


The Shape of My Heart

by snowqueen79



Category: Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Anal Sex, Angst, Blow Jobs, Double Penetration, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Jealousy, M/M, Multi, Oral Sex, Polyamory, Smut, Spanking, Stucky - Freeform, Threesome - F/M/M, Voyeurism
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-16
Updated: 2019-02-15
Packaged: 2019-05-23 23:24:21
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 39
Words: 144,149
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14943287
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/snowqueen79/pseuds/snowqueen79
Summary: Christine Danforth is an FBI agent and data analyst sent to help the Avengers with a special mission. She picked a career in computer science because she's an empath in denial who'd like some pleasurable company now and again but no heavy emotions and all the drama that comes with them. Enjoying what she thought would be a quick fling with Bucky Barnes was her first mistake. Especially when she figures out that he just needs someone's love to get him through until the man he loves comes to his senses and realizes they could be happy together. Falling for a lovesick, guilt-ridden Steve Rogers is her second mistake. Especially when she realizes that she's the map he needs to the man he loves but doesn't believe he deserves. When both soldiers figure out they need more than just each other, will they be able to save Christine when she runs from them? Will a broken heart and the danger swirling all around them lead her to make a final, fatal mistake?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Working on Sign of Fire and started working on this when I got stuck. It's a little different but it's my birthday so... Hope you enjoy!

 

Christine Danforth was a bundle of nerves as she headed for the conference room of the Avengers compound. Trained as an FBI agent in Quantico, she’d risen through the ranks quickly. An expert in all things technological, she had brought down dozens of cyber terrorists in her time with the bureau and she was just shy of thirty.

Why on earth had her mentor sent her here? To Tony Stark? Chris was good at what she did, decent with self-defense and weaponry in the way any FBI agent was.

Was she enhanced? _Well._ Not in any way that would benefit the Avengers. Being an empath was why she choose to work in computer science to begin with. There were no emotions in the cyber world and wasn’t that a welcome break?

Chris checked herself in the reflective walls of the elevator. A sober dark suit with a wine-colored blouse beneath. Heels, not too high, not too sexy. Minimal jewelry, minimal makeup. Her blonde hair was newly cut to curve at chin-length, edgy but not too eye-catching. The look was professional and that’s just what she was going for.

Tony Stark was someone she hoped to impress. He’d been a hero of hers growing up. It had been he who’d made her want to pursue technology.

Stepping off the elevator, a suited man stood by the doorway of the room number given to her. The older man’s eyes scanned the badge she wore around her neck.

“Agent Danforth,” he said. “Please go in.”

She’d kind of envisioned everyone sitting around a conference table taking notes and dealing with the situation at hand.

Instead, it was like walking into a cocktail party. There were full bars on either side of the room, people laughing and mingling. Tony Stark was at the bar to the right, talking with who she thought was James Rhodes and Dr. Bruce Banner. Next to them were two master spies, Natasha Romanoff and Clint Barton, more famously known as Black Widow and Hawkeye. The lovely redhead swung her gaze her way, cocking an eyebrow at her.

_Well, fuck._

A young woman dressed as an intern, stopped by her with a tray of drinks. “Hi, would you like a drink?”

Even the intern was bigger than her. It didn’t take much. At 5’3” and slim, her stature was another reason she went into technology. Most of the people in the room were huge. Or super geniuses. Or master spies.

_Jesus. Why was she even here?_

“No, thank you,” she told the woman.

To her left, leaning against the wall, were two men. Super soldiers. Steve Rogers, better known as Captain America, and James Barnes, former HYDRA agent and best friend of Rogers. They both worked with the Avengers Initiative now though. She’d been advised by her mentor that things were strained between Rogers and Stark, been told to stay out of that. Both of them appeared to be watching her wander without a purpose.

Nodding to them, she turned to head right back out the door when someone stepped into her path.

“Hello, there.” Chris looked up into the friendly face of Pepper Potts. The lovely strawberry blonde woman held out a hand to her.

“Pepper Potts,” she greeted. “Can I help you?”

“No, can _I_ help you?” Tony Stark stepped up, a wide grin on his face. He held out his hand. “Tony Stark. You are?”

“Agent Danforth,” she said simply, watching the confusion on his face.

“Agent Chris… Danforth?” Tony’s brow knitted as he looked to Pepper and back to her.

“Agent _Christine_ Danforth,” she corrected him.

It wasn’t the first time she’d arrived where a male had been expected.

Tony recovered himself quickly, his gaze raking over her quickly before Pepper elbowed him sharply.

“So, you’re the whiz kid,” Tony said with a wink, then his expression became serious. “Thank you for helping with this particular mission. It’s going to be a dangerous one.”

Chris could feel the eyes of the super soldiers on her as she spoke, felt their… curiosity. It gave away that they would be on this mission with her. Honestly, she was grateful for that.

“I’ve been advised of that,” she told Tony while Pepper Smirked. “I’m not an Avenger but I’ll do my best for you and your team.”

“We know you will,” Pepper told her.

“I was also told there’d be a meeting regarding this which is why I’m here,” she said, careful to keep her tone and expression neutral.

Chris wasn’t trying to sense anyone’s emotions but the appreciated the approval coming from Pepper, the intrigue coming from her idol. It could be worse.

“Lunch ran over,” Tony explained, glancing back over his should at Rogers and Barnes. “And I’m sure you’re not the only one who wants to get on with it. Rogers has been brooding at me for the last half hour.”

“Sorry,” Pepper told her. “Maybe if we head over, they’ll follow us eventually.”

Pepper motioned towards the door and Christine walked ahead, the taller woman right behind her. The soldiers were following them. Pepper led her into that conference room, a huge round table at its center.

They stopped before the table, others slowly starting to filter in.

“Agent Danforth,” Pepper halted. “Let me introduce you.”

Chris turned then, on eye level with the broad, muscled chest of Captain America. He was dressed in a gray dress shirt and slacks, and they fit him wonderfully, but there he was. His blue eyes respectfully stayed on her face, his curiosity lingering.

“Steve Rogers, this is Agent Christine Danforth of the FBI,” Pepper explained.

Not surprisingly he had a good handshake even though he was careful, his hand swallowed hers.

“Nice to meet you,” he said, very handsome when he smiled.

“It’s nice to meet you,” she replied.

“And this is James Barnes,” Pepper motioned to the former Winter Soldier who stood just behind Steve, hands tucked away in the pockets of his own slacks.

He was also an attractive man, similar in stature to his life long best friend. His dark hair was close to the length of her own, his blue eyes were wary. He nodded in greeting. She didn’t miss the way he was assessing her, any emotion of his on lockdown. She was actually impressed with such control.

Former assassin. Old habits died hard.

Taking a seat near the door, Chris watched as others drifted in and sat at the table. All of the notable Avengers were there aside from Vision, the Scarlet Witch, and Thor who she hadn’t really expected. The soldiers were her nine o’clock, Bruce Banner her three. Tony and Pepper sat directly across from her, he remained standing as he started the meeting. The spies came in last, taking a seat to her left. She could feel the Black Widow’s gaze on her, her emotions were also tightly controlled.

Once the doors were closed, Tony created a floating display over the table.

“Thanks to Natasha, we’ve gotten our hands on some intriguing intel on HYDRA,” Tony began. “Thanks to a mistake by one of their people, we found a server on an abandoned base – we think it’s abandoned – and if we’re right, the information there might just help us target every position, every outpost they have and put them out of business.”

Chris didn’t miss the hope from both the spy at her side and soldiers at her right.

“The transfer of the data is going to require we have a technical genius on this end, that’s me, and one on site.” Tony’s dark eyes focused on Chris then. “The FBI’s letting us borrow Agent Danforth who will handle the hack at the base and your mission is to make sure we get the data and we keep her safe. Her boss, well, he’s a tough old bastard.”

Chris smirked at that. He wasn’t wrong.

“Rogers will command the team heading to the base,” Tony continued. “Barnes, Romanoff, Barton, and Wilson will be accompanying him and agent Danforth to the base to retrieve this data. Any questions?”

“How are you doing?” Sam Wilson smiled and waved at her from the other side of Pepper.

Chris nodded, smiling back.

When Tony continued to explain the finer points of the mission with Steve, Chris waved Tony’s display closer to her down the table. Then she began zooming in on the site, the schematics, not realizing the conversation had stopped around her while she surveyed the base that was their target.

Not everyone was staring at her like she had two heads. Natasha pointed to one vent that went over the room they needed to break into.

“That might be useful,” Natasha told her, pointing along its route.

Chris nodded, zooming in on the room beneath it to look at the server location, to see if she could discern anything about it for research. She studied it until Tony’s voice pulled her out of her thoughts.

“Did I say you could play with my screen?” he asked, his tone had enough of tease to tell her it wasn’t a warning. His vibes were borderline amused.

Chris finished her assessment, then glanced his way. “You didn’t say I couldn’t, Mr. Stark.”

He tipped his head. “Fair.”

Steve smirked at her, cracking a smile when she pushed the screen back down the table to Tony.

“Have everything you need?” Tony asked.

Chris nodded, smiled back.

Even Barnes, they kept referring to him as Bucky so she was going to guess that’s what he preferred, appeared to find it funny.

“So, tomorrow night,” Tony announced. “The team will leave here at nineteen hundred hours. Danforth, did you pack for a sleepover?”

“I’m prepared for most anything,” Chris told him honestly.

“Good. Toga party’s after dinner.” Tony nodded, dismissed the meeting. Chris was up and the first one out the door.

The hard part was over. Being in rooms with several people was difficult for her, even when she was prepared.

“Agent Danforth,” Pepper called to her. Chris turned back to the lady, smiling. “I’ll show you to your room.”

“Thank you.”

Steve held the elevator door open so they could join him and Bucky on the way up. Even though she was standing in front of the brunette, she could feel his gaze move over her now. That he found her physically appealing wasn’t surprising, she got that often. It wasn't vanity. She had tits.

When Steve murmured something close to his ear, the feelings she caught radiating between them were comfort, familiarity and... Intimacy?

The elevator chimed with her conclusion. Were Steve and Bucky together? Not that she was judging. Given their history it would make sense.

Pepper stopped at a door, unlocking it for her with a thumbprint. She instructed Chris through the setup so she could go in and out of her room securely. It was elegant like a luxury hotel suite and apparently stocked with anything she could need.

Pepper mentioned their AI F.R.I.D.A.Y if she needed anything and advised her to Steve, Bucky, and Sam were all on the same floor as well. After a few more pleasantries, she didn’t mind because Pepper was genuinely nice, she was left to her own devices in the room.

 

 

 

Steve and Bucky had just walked into the elevator when someone darted in behind them so quickly, Bucky actually jumped. Steve smirked to see the FBI agent they’d be taking along on the mission later, standing in the corner dressed for a run just as they were.

“Ground floor?” he asked, his voice raspy from sleep.

The young woman didn’t look a lot more awake than he felt. “Please.”

She barely came up to his shoulders, all slender curves and long limbs. Bucky was ogling her legs right along with him, tanned and toned and going on for days. Her pale blonde hair was pulled back into something like the bun Bucky would sometimes wear, no trace of makeup on her face. She really didn’t need it.

She followed them off the elevator to the back of the compound until Steve finally glanced back at her over his shoulder. “You’re welcome to join us,” he offered as they reached the start of the path that ran along the compound, through the woods.

“Thanks for the offer,” she said dryly, “but according to your friend Wilson, I should ‘save my pride, and take my time’.”

Even Bucky laughed at her spot-on impersonation of Sam, and his laughter at anything was rare.

“When did you talk to him?” Steve asked.

“At the vending machines last night,” she explained.

“How about we take our time today and keep pace with you?” Steve asked, earning him a look from Bucky. _What?_ He mouthed to his friend.

“Your choice,” she told them. “It’s your turf.”

With a soldier on either side of her, she started running, keeping the same consistent speed he expected. It made him grin that she still ran fast enough to challenge Sam. Bucky frowned, he hated to run slow. But then he dropped slightly back, enjoying the flex of her legs and firm backside and the expression went away. He was admiring the view, much as he would have back in the day. After that, Steve decided they’d stay with her for a while.

“So where in the south are you from originally?” Steve asked as they jogged along, noting the more she spoke, the more he picked up the subtle lilt she put on certain words.

“Very good,” Chris told him. There was nothing in her file about her life before Quantico. “Virginia.”

“You enjoy working for the bureau?”

“I do,” she told him, “It’s what I wanted to do from the time I was a kid. I’ve never regretted it.”

The path they ran along was beautiful, well-kept, and not without slight challenges. They’d moved along maybe a half mile and she ran along as if she were as familiar with it as they were.

“Do you like living here?” she asked.

“Some days,” Steve said honestly. “Some days I almost want to be back out there in the world.”

“I like it here,” she told them. “I like the isolation myself. It’s comforting somehow.”

She surprised them when she glanced back over her shoulder at Bucky. He didn’t speak often so most people didn’t often include him in their conversation. “How about you?”

“I like it okay. I’ve had worse,” he said simply, his gaze not drifting away from her for long.

Her attention to Bucky had Steve smiling. They ran for a few miles before he noticed her slowing down. Finally, she came to a stop, holding onto one side.

Her smile had a bit of mischief to it as she swung her gray eyes from Bucky to him. “This is where I leave you, gentlemen. Thank you. It’s been fun.”

Steve expected Bucky to look a bit more relieved than he did that she wasn’t continuing on with them.

“Yeah, it has,” Bucky told her. “See you later, doll.”

Steve waved as they ran on, both of them watching her make her way back into the compound. Steve hadn’t heard Bucky break out ‘doll’ since… well, he couldn’t remember when.

“Huh? I do believe that’s called flirting, Rogers,” Bucky teased him.

Steve smirked at him. “So did you.”

“Maybe.” Bucky couldn’t hold a straight face for long. “She’s something.”

Steve nodded, agreeing with him.

“Just do me a favor, Buck,” Steve told him. “Help me keep her out of harm’s way tonight.”

Bucky nodded as they continued running. “You’ve got it.”


	2. Chapter 2

The Quinjet flew them into a remote, backwater town in Texas and the heat rose up waves as they climbed out to begin the trek to the abandoned site. The entire group was silent for the two-mile hike over mostly flat land and it cooled off quickly as the sun set. It was dark when they reached the base, Steve signaled for them to hold up.

“Bucky, you and Clint do a sweep,” Steve said into the com. “Let’s make sure there’s no one here before we move in.”

Bucky nodded, and Clint followed him through the darkness to the building that looked as if it had sat dormant for a decade. She waited patiently with Steve, Natasha, and Sam for word from their scouts.

“All clear,” Bucky’s voice reached them.

“Copy that,” Steve told them. “Let’s go. Agent, stay right behind me.”

Chris nodded and did as he asked, admiring how a man his size moved so quietly as they approached a side door of the building. He had a nice ass too.

“Sam, keep watch,” Steve ordered.

“Got it.” Sam waited outside.

Bucky waved Steve in through the door, Natasha and herself staying with him. “Clint’s sweeping the perimeter. I think I’ve found what we’re looking for.”

Christine marveled at how efficiently they worked, how harmoniously focused they were. The mission seemed easy indeed. They followed Bucky down a couple of long hallways until they reached a room that looked like an old-fashioned server bank. And maybe it was.

Steve and Natasha ushered her ahead of them and into the room but all three of them followed her in.

Christine scanned the room, starting with the left side, she scanned the rows of antiquated machines.

“They think we’re going to find something _here_?” Natasha remarked.

Steve also looked doubtful, but Bucky stayed right with her, scanning each machine. Just maybe in his time with HYDRA, he knew just how they liked to cloak things. Without a couple of recent cases, she certainly wouldn’t have known what she was looking for.

At the end of the third row, a machine caught her eye just as Bucky pointed to it.

“Can you pry that open, please?” she asked him.

Pulling a knife from his belt, he had the front case opened effortlessly.

“Thank you,” she told him, kneeling before it.

The telltale signs were there. The casing was thicker, inside there appeared to be a newer machine. Christine ran her hands along the sides of it within the old, dirty case until she found a switch. The instant she hit it, the inner machine came to life.

“There you are,” Christine said aloud.

“Tony,” Steve spoke into his com. “You there.”

“You found it, I see,” Tony’s Stark’s voice buzzed in her ear. “The signal just came online.”

“I need a couple of minutes to get everything scoped out, okay?” Chris told him.

“Yep,” Tony said in the com.

“Got it,” Steve told her.

Natasha took a knee next to her, watching as she worked. Bucky was also lingering above her, watching.

Within minutes, Chris had found the files she wanted, pulled her own equipment from her bag to facilitate the transfer, and had everything ready to go.

“Mr. Stark, when you’re ready we’ll initiate the sequence,” Chris said.

“That sounded very sexy, agent,” Tony quipped in her ear.

“Yeah?” Christine continued on with her end of the process, trying not to fangirl over being on the receiving end of her idol’s inappropriate humor. “Get your end started and we’ll see what else turns you on.”

Tony snorted.

“Ass,” Natasha said next to her.

“Okay, agent,” Tony said. “Let’s do it.”

Christine hit the key to start the transfer. One beat later, they heard from Clint.

“Some alarm is blaring out here,” Clint said. “What did you guys do?”

“Transfer is in progress,” Steve told him. “What do you see?”

“Nothing at the moment but I’m kind of afraid to hope it’ll stay that way, Cap,” Clint said.

“Alarm’s loud,” Sam cut in.

“Hang on,” Chris told them, taking a look at the system’s functions.

“Sam, survey the area,” Steve ordered.

“Got it,” Sam replied. “Thanks for killing the alarm.”

Chris struggled to block out the emotions swirling around her even though they were minor. Fascination, curiosity, appreciation. She didn’t have time to deal with any of that right now.

“How’s it going?” Steve asked, waiting for a progress report and for them to accomplish their mission.

“Transfer is at 9%,” Chris told him. “It’s going to take several minutes to finish.”

By the time the transfer got to 17%, Sam’s voice broke in with bad news.

“We’ve got incoming, Cap,” Sam reported. “A couple of hummers loaded with armed men coming up from the south.”

“Got one coming in this direction, too,” Clint told them.

Natasha rose to her feet. “Shall we?” she asked Steve, the sheer level of her ferocity surprising Chris.

Chris glanced up at her companions.

“Buck, stay here with her until the transfer’s finished,” Steve said. “We’ll hold them off.”

Bucky nodded, watched them run back out to help Sam and Clint.

The transfer had reached 21%.

“You guys okay?” Tony asked.

“Should be,” Steve explained. “We’ve got company.”

After a couple of beats, Tony answered. “That’s because we’ve got some genuine data,” Tony sounded as if he were scanning over it. “This is exactly what we were hoping for.”

Chris nodded, knowing it was. She stayed focused on the information transfer, ready in case something happened to interrupt the connection.

The sound of fighting broke out around them, had Bucky pulling a rifle from his shoulder and getting it ready. Chris didn’t feel fear or worry coming from him, just determination.

“Stay down,” he told her.

Chris nodded. The transfer was at 46%.

“Shit, they’ve got RPGs,” Sam yelled.

An explosion rocked the building, not far from their room.

“I got the one,” Clint said quietly.

“Got him,” Sam yelled, sounding as if he were in the air.

“Agent, status on the transfer,” Steve called into the com.

“50%, Captain,” she told him.

“Keep going,” Tony said from the compound. “Everything’s coming in solid, just like we hoped for. Just hang on.”

“Trying, Tony,” Steve told him, sounding as if he were fighting as he did.

Christine stayed focused on her job, counting on the man keeping watch above her to keep her safe.

“Buck, you guys okay?” Steve called.

“So far.”

Several minutes passed, the fighting continued on.

“How you guys doing?” Tony asked from the compound.

“Okay for now,” Steve answered, “Status, agent?”

“90%, Captain.”

By the time the transfer got to 95%, Chris was sweating bullets. They were almost done. Yes, there were four Avengers out there but even _they_ couldn’t hold off HYDRA and its agents forever and it sounded bad out there.

Another explosion rocked the building, closer than the first one and Bucky looked on edge, ready to jump into the fray. His feelings of fear, restlessness all came from concern for his friends outside, especially… Steve.

“Clint!” Steve yelled in the com.

“M’Okay,” Clint muttered. “It went in and out.”

Clint had gotten shot?

98%.

“Are we done yet? I see another transport,” Sam called, sounding as if he were in the air.

“99%” Chris said.

When it hit 100%, Tony jumped in. “Wind it down, agent. Looks like we’ve got everything on our end. Have a copy?”

 “I do.” Christine zoomed through the process and then killed it.

“Done!” she yelled.

“Get out of there, Cap,” Tony called. “We’ve got it.”

Christine tucked away her gear as she stood, going as fast as humanly possible. With it tucked away, she pulled out her Glock and looked to Bucky.

“You stay with _me_ ,” he told her and began to lead her out of the room.

Chris did as he instructed, not surprised when they encountered HYDRA men the minute they stepped foot outside. Bodies littered the ground already and Bucky was taking more down with the rifle.

“You out?” Steve yelled.

“Yes,” Bucky told him.

“Just head straight for the jet,” Steve told him. “We’ll be right behind you.”

“We hope,” Nat breathed into her com before an explosion lit up the world not far from where they ran.

The explosion had knocked Chris down and for a moment she was dazed, looking around frantically. Bucky held out a hand to her, pulled her off the ground and along with him as he ran. He was a one-man wrecking crew, taking down anyone who came close to them.

Her lungs felt like they were on fire as she moved closer to the jet. By the time it came into sight, Chris was struggling a little to keep up but thought she could make it.

That’s when the bullet hit her, in the gut just below her Kevlar vest and out the back, the pain so sharp it caused her to double over.

“Agent!” Bucky yelled.

Chris tried to straighten up, tried to keep walking, but it wasn’t working the way she wanted. And it hurt like hell.

The world spun around her then as she was scooped up, Bucky carrying her the rest of the way and up into the jet.

Bucky tossed her onto one of the seats. “Put pressure on that,” he yelled with one eye on the monitors.

He’d been about to go back down to ensure none of them made it up into the jet when he spotted Steve running full-throttle at the jet, taking HYDRA’s soldiers down as he went. What he missed Sam swooped down to finish. Then he saw Nat and Clint, running together in their direction. Clint had been shot in the leg from the looks of his limp.

Bucky moved back to her, taking a knee in front of her.

“Hey,” Chris tried to ward him off as he attacked the front of her vest to pull it off, but he was focused on his task.

Pulling it off in seconds, he was pulling up her shirt to inspect the wound, both front and exit wounds.  From under the seat, he pulled out a first aid kit, scrambling for sterile gauze and using it to keep pressure on the front of the wound. His emotions were tightly held, just a little concern bleeding out.

How was he doing that? She had never run across someone with that sort of iron control over their feelings.

“Steve!” he yelled the moment the other super-soldier’s heavy footprints could be heard clamoring up into the jet.

The captain’s eyes scanned the interior of the jet until his gaze landed on them.

“She’s hit,” Bucky told him.

Dropping his weapons, Steve darted over to them, concern rolling off him in waves. Unlike his former assassin best friend, Steve Rogers’ emotions were strong. It was hard to ignore them.

Pulling back the gauze he used, Bucky showed him the wound. “Clean entry in the back,” he explained.

It hurt like hell, particularly when the captain grabbed more gauze, held it to the wound at her back.

Sam surveyed the scene when he climbed on, walking over. “You okay?” Sam asked as Chris tried to hold still for the soldiers who were trying to cut off the bleeding.

“She’s fading,” Sam told them a second before she recognized it herself.

By the time Nat made it on board with Clint, Chris didn’t know how much longer she could stay awake.

Reaching out, her hand landed on Bucky’s. “Just in case,” she whispered, “Everything is in my bag. A copy of the code, the schematics. Everything. Just give it to Mr. Stark, okay?”

The man had gorgeous blue eyes. “You’re not dying on us, doll,” he said, worry for her seeping out from that control.

“No, but if I black out, I don’t know when I’ll be awake next. He needs all that, yeah?” Chris told him. “Make sure he gets them.”

Her gaze moved to Steve Rogers, he nodded still applying pressure to her back.

“You’re going to be okay,” he said, and that’s when she felt it again. Admiration.

What did someone like her do to earn admiration from Captain America?

And then it was dark.

 

 

 

“Buck?”

Bucky turned at the sound of Steve’s voice in the doorway. It almost 3 AM.

“How’s she doing?” Steve asked, walking into the room in medical where Bucky sat at her bedside.

“Doc said she’d be okay,” he told him. “Blood loss wasn’t too bad.”

Folding his arms across his chest, Steve watched her sleeping.

“You did a good job today, Buck,” Steve told him.

Bucky snorted. “She got shot.”

“It could have been worse.”

“Don’t blow smoke up my ass.”

He didn’t miss the way Steve’s cheeks darkened. “You know what I mean. It was a dangerous mission.”

Yeah, he was blaming himself for her getting shot. He had _one_ job, to keep her safe and it didn’t go so well.

And to make matters worse, she’d been so calm about it all. She hadn’t blamed him for anything, just had taken it in stride, telling him to make sure Tony got everything from her bag and he got that done.

“She’s going to be okay,” Steve told him. “If you hadn’t been there, it might have been much worse.”

Why did Steve do that? Bucky didn’t want false praise or for his friend to go out of his way to appreciate him for doing his damned job. Locking his jaw, fought to keep quiet, not wanting to lose his temper.

“You going to stay here a while?” Steve asked.

Bucky nodded, looking Steve in the eyes.

Steve looked about to say something, then seemed to think better of it and turned back for the door. “Night.”

Bucky sat in the darkened room next to the recovering agent, shaking his head.

Steve Rogers had nearly torn the Avengers irrevocably apart for him. After chasing him for two years and fighting his own team and the law for him for another, Bucky admittedly had some high hopes for joining the Avengers. Steve saved him, still wanted him in his life and more than proved it.

And now here he was and…

Nothing.

Sure, they did the best friend thing. They did the best friends on the battlefield thing. They hung out, sparred, watched games, visited children’s hospitals. They went to Tony’s boring fucking charity events where he got to watch Steve flirting with Sharon Carter when she found an excuse to fly in. They’d even leave the parties together sometimes and then…

Nothing.

Hell, he’d feel better if Steve fucked Sharon Carter. Fucked _anyone_ for that matter. Considering what they did every day, the danger they faced, he would have thought that Steve wanted the release, to blow off steam. He never did.

Bucky hooked up as they called it these days here and there, not usually picky about it being either a man or a woman. If he wanted to share a night with them, he did. It never lasted. In the rare case the other person could get their mind around him being the former Winter Soldier, the time he spent on missions, days and sometimes weeks, would finish the job and end things.

Steve watched people leave his room at odd hours. He never said anything. Worse, Bucky suspected he felt sorry for him and that’s _why_ he didn’t say anything.

It wasn’t like Bucky was desperate for a relationship, just any scrap of affection. He honestly thought if he fucked enough people, Steve would wake up, be jealous – _care_.

It all felt wrong. Why did Steve save him? Why try to help him remember who he once was?

Bucky had once been a man in love -- with Steve Rogers.

And Steve had loved him. Even after he’d rescued him from Azzano, they’d resumed the hidden, precious love they’d had back in Brooklyn tucked away in dark tents and buildings. Bucky knew Steve was also in love with Peggy by the time they found each other. While that had made things difficult in the early days of the Howling Commandos, once Peggy figured it out, she’d been willing to share. A few times Peggy had shared Steve with him in a very literal, personal sense and Bucky remembered those nights with a smile.

Neither of them was strictly gay. Most of the team new Bucky fucked men and women both, no one said anything, not even Steve.

Was Steve worried about what people would think?

Or did he just not want Bucky anymore?

Blowing out an exhale, he shook his head. The way Steve looked at him sometimes, so intense… It was hard to believe Steve _didn’t_ want him. So hard.

“Are you okay?”

That raspy voice drew his attention back to the bed, the agent they’d taken with them looking over at him with big gray eyes.

Bucky smiled. “That’s my line.”

“I’ll be okay,” she told him, trying to weakly pull herself up.

“Here.” Rising from the chair, he gently slid his hands under her arms and helped her to sit up.

Wincing slightly, she straightened the hospital gown she wore around her and blew out an exhale.

“Thanks.”

“How do you feel?” Bucky asked her.

“Surprisingly good,” she told him, her brow knitting. He watched her ease her hands down her side and over her stomach where she was shot. When she didn’t find what she expected, she kept feeling. “I thought…”

“Pretty neat, huh?”

“What’s neat?” She asked, reaching around to her back. “Where’s my bullet hole? It went straight through.”

“Healed,” Bucky explained. “Medical here has been working with Wakanda to improve their technology over the last year or so. It’s amazing what they can patch up.”

“I guess, damn.” Her blonde brows rose. “I guess that comes in plenty handy for you guys and the injuries you must sustain.”

Bucky nodded. It really did.

“Does it hurt?”

Chris shook her head. “So, if I’m basically healed, how long am I in for?”

“They’ll let you out later today,” Bucky explained. “Tony called your boss who wants you to sit tight a couple of days until you’re better. I gave everything to Tony like you asked.”

She nodded, tucking some of her blonde hair behind her ear.

“Thanks for looking out for me,” she said sincerely. “Bucky, right?’

He nodded but kept his mouth shut, getting more irritated by the moment.

“Did I say something wrong?”

That got his attention. Those big gray eyes met his when he looked up.

“No,” Bucky told her, accepting her gratitude though he didn’t deserve it. “I’m, ah, glad to help, Christine.”

“Chris,” she told him. “So, can I go running with you guys again before I leave?”

Bucky grinned at that. He’d enjoyed that more than he would have thought he would. He’d certainly enjoyed watching her run.

“Sure. But you’d better get some sleep.”

“How about you?”

“I’m fine.” Bucky held up his phone, earbuds. “I usually don’t sleep a lot anyway unless you just want to get rid of me.”

“Stay,” she told him, smiling.

And he was grateful. He hated being alone.

Chris, Bucky decided, was beautiful. He’d always had a weakness for a girl with big eyes. It didn’t hurt that she was slender and curvy, easy to talk to. And considering she was an FBI agent, she had an idea of what life was like for him.

_Maybe._

Judging by the way Steve had flirted with her on their run, he thought his friend might have a thing for her too. Bucky wouldn’t allow himself to care about that.

Deciding to watch a movie, Bucky got comfortable in the chair. Chris was asleep within minutes.

 

 


	3. Chapter 3

Chris had been at the compound for a couple of days after the shooting, leaving Tony’s office when she fell in behind Steve, Bucky, and Sam heading up to their apartments from what looked like a hell of a workout.

It was odd to be up and whole after taking a bullet to the gut. It wasn’t the first time she’d been shot, but she had to admit it was the fastest she had healed by a long shot. Instead of creeping around in loose-fitting clothing, she wore her customary jeans and tops, heading back to her room and thinking about taking advantage of the room’s fabulous hot-tub.

Sam held the elevator door for her and she joined them, the room she’d been given on their floor.

“How are you doing today, Chris?” Sam asked with a big toothy smile.

“Good,” she told him. “How are you guys? How did training go?”

Steve burst out laughing, Bucky shook his head and tried not to. Sam was fuming.

“I’ve had better days,” Sam said, exasperated. “I need to stop training with these two dumbasses.”

“Hey,” Steve held his hands up, “it was _your_ idea to upgrade the obstacle course.” The last part he put air quotes around.

“Why are their air quotes around obstacle course?” Chris wanted to know.

“Don’t ask,” Bucky warned her with a grin. “You don’t want to know.”

She looked from one of them to the other. “Fine, I’ll wait. Things don’t tend to stay secrets long here.”

“Will you be staying on with us for a while?” Steve asked her, the sincerity of his interest taking her off guard.

“I’m here until Saturday,” she told him. “Some of the data we intercepted needs to be reviewed while I’m here. But my bosses are pleased, considering how this went.”

“Meeting with Tony went okay?” Steve pressed on.

Chris nodded. “He offered me a job.”

“Are you going to take it?” Sam asked now, still grinning.

Chris didn’t have an answer for that one. Before today she would have told anyone who had asked that she’d never leave her beloved bureau. The terms and salary Tony offered? Damn. She _was_ tempted.

The elevator came to a stop and that was a good thing. She got attraction vibes from all three men, Sam’s far less serious than the other two. Steve? She’d figured out he was interested in her when they’d gone running. She was flattered to be sure but there was something… something holding him back. Hesitation was as much a shield he had up as the physical one he carried on missions.

Then there was Bucky. What he felt for her went in a different direction. Need, desire, longing. The loneliness that hovered heavily the others puzzled her but maybe she’d figure it out along the way. She was first out of the elevator, making her way to her room.

“I’ll catch up with you for dinner, guys.” Letting herself into her room, Chris sighed and closed the door.

Time for hot-tubbing, Chris decided, feeling more than a little worked up after riding the elevator with three gorgeous men. It had been a while since she’d been laid. That was likely her problem.

Just as she went to head for the hot tub, someone knocked on her door. When Chris opened it, she found Bucky standing there, his gaze so intense on her. She was pretty sure she knew what he wanted.

She motioned him in before closing the door, locking it behind her. Those amazing blue eyes of his drank her in and he licked his lips.

Christine pulled off her blouse, surprising him. “I was just going to get in the hot tub. It’s helped the soreness I _do_ have from being shot immensely. Want to join me?”

He pulled off the sweatshirt he wore and dropped it to the floor. Chris got an eyeful of that vibranium arm of his, impressed after seeing it in action. Where the metal met flesh was ugly and twisted but it was barely noticeable when you considered the muscled wall of his chest, the perfection of his flesh arm and the rest of him.

She made the first move, smoothing her hands over that chest as his hands landed on her waist. There was no question he wanted her, desire radiated from him in waves. It was just the sadness wrapped around the lust he put off. It made her sad he didn’t consider himself her equal but that he was begging for the scraps from her table.

What the hell made a man _that_ beautiful like _this_?

Chris pressed her lips to his chest, then his neck. He shivered and she grinned against his shoulder.

When she pulled back, he lowered his head and claimed her mouth in a scorching kiss, hands lifting to work on the back of her bra and pull it off her body. Bucky hummed as he let his flesh hand skim up over her ribs to cup her breast. He was an incredible kisser, but she had to breathe so she pulled back again.

“Do you have… anything?” she asked, wanting to get business out of the way. “I didn’t bring anything in the way of protection for this trip.”

Bucky nodded, the metal arm dragging her against him so she could feel how hard he was for her. Chris smiled. He was going to feel _so_ good.

Taking his metal hand in hers, Chris led him to the bathroom, turning on the shower and getting the water nice and hot. Then she got the hot tub started.

“Shower first,” she told him, working off her jeans and panties with them. “We’ll get you cleaned up and then get in the hot tub. Sound good?”

Bucky’s grin was wicked as he took in all of her. “Sounds _very_ good.”

His shorts, socks, and shoes were off in an instant and he climbed into the shower, adjusting the water to cool it off just a little.

Chris slid into the shower behind him, lathering up a loofa with her own body wash and cleaning him up while he washed his hair. Watching him rinse the shampoo out, she handed him the conditioner next. He hesitated but did as she wished, squeezing some into his flesh hand and working it through his dark hair as she worked on cleaning the lower part of his body.

Bucky seemed to be in a hurry to rinse off and that was fine. He could be in as much of a hurry as he wanted to be, she’d decided. She had plans that involved abandoning the loofa at his feet and smoothing her hands up those beautiful thighs. Her action stopped him cold when her lips pressed to the inside of one thigh, he hissed above her. Chris ran a quick chain of quick kisses further up until she’d reached her target, wrapping her hands around that cock that was as beautiful as the rest of him, loving how small her hands looked as she stroked him.

“Is this okay?” Chris asked him, grinning at his darkened eyes and the way those plush lips were slack.

“Very okay,” he whispered, his flesh hand sliding into her hair. “You going to suck it, baby? You going to wrap that pretty mouth around my cock?”

To answer his question, she sucked the head in, swirling her tongue around the sensitive skin there and loving how he leaned back against the shower wall to ground himself. Since he enjoyed that so much, Chris slid him further and further back, wrecking him with her mouth. When he hit the back of her throat, what she couldn’t fit in, she worked with her hands.

“You look gorgeous,” Bucky muttered, those beautiful eyes riveted on her, “so fucking gorgeous with my cock in your mouth.”

Chris moaned deeply around him, swallowing him down as far as she could. The way his body tried to curl in on itself as a result had her smiling. She loved that he was letting her do what she wanted, letting her take him apart. His hand tightened in her hair though not enough to hurt. Chris doubled her efforts, enjoying the way he fought off his orgasm, so he could enjoy it just a little longer.

He tapped her shoulder, and Chris _knew_ he was close.  She was counting on it.

Moving a slender hand to his balls, she played with them, squeezing gently as he whimpered above her.

With a deep groan, Bucky came and Chris swallowed everything, hanging onto his beautiful thighs as she worked him through it.

The sound of him breathing above her, eyes closed as his head leaned back against the shower wall had her smiling. The fact that he looked happy, that he _radiated_ happy, made her want to shout it from the roof of the compound after feeling the sadness that was his constant companion for days.

Considering she’d showered before her meeting with Tony, she was okay in climbing out of the shower, leaving him to recover.

“Where are you going?” Bucky’s voice was intended to sound playful but edged with worry.

Chris smoothed back the wet strands of her hair, smiling back over her shoulder as she added some of her favorite scented oil to the bubbly warmth the hot tub offered.

“Just here,” she said gently, wanting to put him at ease. “I really do need the hot tub. My side still kind of aches.”

Grabbing the rail, she eased into the water, sighing happily as she found a perfect seat, the perfect position. The heated bubbling water came up to just under her breasts.

She watched him turn off the water in the shower, walking out to the hot tub as comfortable in his skin as she was in hers. When his gaze met hers, she held out a hand to him because he wanted to feel invited, wanted, desired. And she _definitely_ wanted him.

Bucky took a seat next to her, looking content.

“Feeling better?” he asked after a few moments.

Chris nodded, reaching over to wind a lock of his hair around her finger. “Much better. Thank you for the company.”

“I’m the one who should be thanking you,” he admitted. “Especially since you invited me in after getting shot on my watch.”

“Hey,” Chris told him, drawing his gaze back to her. “How is that your fault? We went into quite a hornet’s nest that day. I don’t see action like that normally. I’m more… technical. If you hadn’t been there, I might be dead right now.”

“So, what do you normally do?” Bucky asked, tipping his head closer to her as she continued to pet him.

“Watch the world on computer monitors from my girl cave,” Chris explained. “Analyze data they send me. The best part of my job is that I can work from home, tailor my own hours.”

“What’s the worst part?”

“That I work from home.” Chris laughed. “There will be weeks I barely leave my place, hardly see anyone.”

“Sounds lonely,” he told her.

Chris shrugged. “I guess if I looked at it that way, it could be. I don’t enjoy being around most people for very long. Present company excluded. And to answer _that_ question, no, I don’t do this often.”

“I wasn’t going to ask,” he said, grinning.

“But it crossed your mind,” Chris told him, impressed when he didn’t deny it.

“I’m just… grateful,” he said. She believed him.

His sadness, loneliness, crept back in.

She wasn’t surprised when a hand went skimming over her thigh in the water. The metal one.

“Hmmm, that feels so good,” she told him.

“Yeah? It doesn’t bother you?”

She hated the worry in his voice. “Why would it bother me?”

“It bothers a lot of people,” he told her.

“Their loss.” Chris spread her thighs open, practically purring as his flesh hand came across and slid in between her legs, softly touching her where she needed it most. His hands were big, his flesh hand rough and he knew just how to tease her and make squirm on her seat in the water. He bent to take a nipple into his mouth, swirling his tongue around it.

_Okay, then._

Moving to straddle him, Chris made out with him, letting him finger and tease her until she could barely breathe. She loved the way he kissed and the way those gorgeous lips traveled up and down her neck, feasted on her breasts to drive her absolutely wild.

His cock strained against her, hot and large as she ground down on it.

“I really, really want to be inside you right now, doll,” Bucky whispered against her lips. “Can I?”

“I’d love that,” Chris told him, running her hands through his hair.

“Want to do it here? Or bed?”

“Bed,” she admitted, kissing him deeply.

“Hold on,” he said against her mouth, effortlessly lifting her out of the warm tub, grabbing a towel as he went. More gently than she would have thought possible, he set her on her feet on the soft carpet in her bedroom before he began drying her with the towel like she was a child. His lips tickled when they kissed the faint scar that was the only proof that she’d been shot at all.

When he pressed those plush lips to her bare lips, his tongue delving into her folds, she cried out. He made himself smaller, working himself in between her slim legs, devastating her with his mouth in ways that had her hanging onto his hair, whimpering in desperation. Where the actual fuck had he learned to do _that_?

His mouth moved against her so hungrily that her legs weakened. She suspected he’d placed her so close to the edge of the bed for a reason. She was startled when her back hit the mattress, her hips barely hanging off the edge. Bucky spread her legs wide enough to fit his broad shoulders in between, shoving her up the bed just enough to position her at its edge.

Holding her open for him, his large hands pressing her thighs apart, he dove in with his mouth and tongue on her most intimate flesh. Chris could only hold on, her hands clutched in his hair as he devoured her with his mouth, using the flat of his tongue on her clit and fucking her with it wildly at turns.

“Bucky,” she pleaded, writhing wildly on the bed. “ _Please._ ”

“Want you to come, doll baby,” he whispered, “all over my face. Wanna hear you scream.”

Bucky was relentless, not slowing down until she gave him what he wanted, screaming as the orgasm hit her hard and fast. The world went black around her for a couple of moments as she tried to recover from that.

She had the wherewithal to realize he was gently pulling her up the bed, still wet from the tub. She didn’t care in the least. She came back around to the feel of those lips moving over her face, her lips, her breasts. When she finally opened her eyes, he hovered above her, beautiful and dangerous looking.

And there was something else in those deep blue eyes, something so easy to miss except that she _felt_ it. The need to belong, to be touched. God, she knew his story. How _long_ had he lived with no one to love him, to touch him with a gentle hand?

Those lips moved up the column of her neck as she sank her hands into his hair.

“Can I have you?” he whispered in her ear, his breath hot and making her shiver in the best way.

“Yes,” she whispered, noticing that he was extracting a condom from a wrapper, rolling it on faster than she could think.

Chris laughed even though she hadn’t gotten her breath back. “You really are stealthy.”

“Yeah?”

Chris gasped as he lined himself up and gently began to sink into her. “You’ve gotta tell me if I hurt you,” he whispered against her lips. “I don’t want you to hurt. I want you to feel good.”

It _did_ burn. Gasping, she hung onto him as he pushed further into her until he couldn’t go further. Chris took a deep breath and he stayed completely still. She’d never felt anything like it before.

His finger slid down, skimming over where she’d been shot.

Her heart clenched in her chest at his caring expression.

“I’m okay,” she told him. “Move.”

Using the metal arm to support his weight, he moved above her, a storm of kisses and caresses all over her as he established a rhythm inside her that had her toes curling. Chris felt dazzled, besotted, beautiful. All she could do is wrap herself around him and hang on and what a ride it was.

When those talented fingers slid down to tease her clit, Chris couldn’t fight him long. She felt her release coming, causing her to clench around him.

“That’s it,” he whispered. “Let go. I want to feel you come on my cock. _Come_.”

Almost as if her body was his to command, she _did_ come, and the orgasm was so much stronger than the one before it. He fucked her through it, moaning above her as he pushed on towards his own release.

When his movements quickened, his thrusts losing rhythm, she knew he was there. She tightened her legs around his hips, raked her nails down his back. When he found his release, he shouted above her, his arms shaking as it claimed him.

Rolling off to her side, he collapsed next to her, his lips teasing her shoulder as his gaze moved over her. “Are you okay?”

Chris smiled, thinking she could become addicted to looking into those deep blue eyes.

“Well, I’m wondering how I’m going to be able to walk down to dinner, but…”

The smile almost made him look boyish. “Yeah? That bad?”

“That _good_ ,” she admitted. “I feel ridiculously happy right now.”

His flesh hand reached for hers, his fingers twining with hers. “Your side’s okay?”

Chris nodded. “I don’t feel a thing there.”

They held each other for long moments until she finally blew out an exhale, looking at the clock on the bedside table. “Not long until dinner.”

Bucky nodded, sitting up on the bed, stretching his good shoulder. “We should probably get going.”

Chris threw her legs over the side of the bed, considering what to wear. Behind her, she felt him get off the bed. She didn’t miss the chance to ogle his ass as he made his way back to the bathroom to get rid of the condom and grab his clothes.

“What are you doing after dinner?” he asked almost shyly.

Chris couldn’t help but smile. “I was going to binge watch Stranger Things on Netflix. Want to watch it with me?”

Again, that heart-stopping smile. He nodded.

“If you wear pajamas, and I’m kind of hoping you don’t, bring them. We’ll have a sleepover.”

Again, that feeling. Happy. He was _happy_. It reached her in waves. She loved that she was the cause of that.

“Is that a yes?”

“Yes.” He pulled his shorts back on. “I reserve the right to talk you into doing more than sleeping and TV, right?”

“No promises,” she told him, chuckling. “But I’m guessing you can be pretty damned persuasive.”

“Oh, I _can_ be.”


	4. Chapter 4

By Friday night, her last night before heading home, Chris was surprised to find that she wanted to stay longer. The Avenger team she’d gotten to know over the week weren’t the usual crowd, and honestly not a lot different from her in that most of them weren’t social butterflies and didn’t really fit in outside their celebrity. 

But they were a family and they took care of each other.

She sat with Wanda, Vision and Natasha, watching Sam, Steve, Bucky, Rhodey, and Tony play pool and have a pretty good time of it. Natasha and Tony kept making sly remarks about Bucky rarely coming out to socialize and what a nice change it was, shooting sideways glances at her. It was all good-natured, so Chris quietly played along.

Bucky shot her glances of his own, heated ones at that, and she’d winked at him a couple of times. Usually, she wasn’t anywhere close to flirty. But she’d just had the best week of sex she’d had in her entire life because of him and she enjoyed watching his cheeks darken when she flirted with him.

More than once, she caught a pained glance from Steve. He was harder for her to understand and she was curious as to where he was coming from. He knew that Bucky had pretty much been living in her room since Tuesday. He knew what was going on. She expected anger or hurt but there was little she felt that was really negative.

Was he jealous? Chris thought he _was_. Thing is, she didn’t know who he was jealous of. Bucky? Or her?

“I heard Tony offered you a job,” Wanda told her at random.

Chris hummed, finished off her vodka. “He did.”

“So, come work with _us_ ,” Wanda told her. “We could use more players on the girls’ team. You’d fit right in.”

Natasha grinned. “It would make a _lot_ of people happy if you stayed.”

They both glanced over their shoulders at Bucky who was shooting at the moment.

Chris shook her head at them. She would be lying if she’d said she hadn’t really enjoyed her time there at the compound, specifically with Bucky, but she had to keep her heart out of it. She wasn’t in a place in her life where she was looking for the elusive fairy tale. She didn’t think Bucky was either. At least not with her.

As she sat there listening to Wanda and Natasha tell stories on the guys, she watched how Steve and Bucky interacted around the pool table. Always aware of each other, always in sync with each other.

As if he could sense her gaze on him, Bucky glanced over at her, winking at _her_ this time. Steve saw it, she watched his smile fade.

Chris was starting to see what was going on.

Tony, who’d had quite a bit to drink, began storytelling, telling Chris stories about Natasha, Clint, Steve, Bucky, Clint again (he wasn’t there), and Wanda. Some took her breath away she laughed so hard. By the time the evening was winding down, she was tired and hot, heading out onto the balcony for a little cool air with a glass of water.

She felt his emotions before she turned to smile at him.

“Chris,” he started. And oh, did it feel like he wanted to talk.

“What’s up, Steve?” she asked gently.

“Last night here?”

“Last night,” she confirmed.

“You could still take that job offer,” he pointed out, his tone friendly. His smile didn’t reach his eyes.

“But I won’t,” Chris told him. “I’ve really enjoyed this week, but my place is at the bureau.”

“ _He’s_ really enjoyed this week,” Steve went there.

Chris blew out an exhale, setting her glass down on the table next to her. “I’m glad.”

“It’s been a long time since he’s been so… “ Steve walked to lean on the railing of the balcony. “It’s been many years since he’s been like this.”

“Why?”

He cut her a look that said _Really?_

“Let me rephrase,” Chris said, moving a little closer to Steve. “I’m just passing through. I’m glad our time together made him happy. It made _me_ happy. But his sadness, his loneliness…”

Steve studied her for a long moment. “That’s why I wanted to talk to you. I… think you could be good for him. I think you _are_ good for him… Are you sure you won’t consider that job?”

_Wow._ Steve loved his friend. So much he was out here trying to convince her to stay, wanting her to make Bucky happy. She might have been offended if she hadn’t realized he was coming from a place where he was looking out for someone he loved.

Steve really _did_ love Bucky. She thought she finally understood. After seeing the way Bucky had looked at Steve all week when he thought no on one noticed, she was pretty sure she was right.

_Well, here goes nothing._

“I know I’ve only been here a few days but… I agree that he needs something. Maybe someone. I’m just not so sure it’s _me_ , Steve.”

His face darkened, he turned his face away.

_Oh, she was onto something._

“J-just think about it, okay?” he sounded so much smaller. He tried to head back for the balcony doors. She hooked her hand in his elbow to stop him. He let her.

“Steve,” Chris said, waiting until he looked her in the eyes. “He loves you. He’s _in_ love with you. Surely you know that.”

Those troubled blue eyes searched her face. “You… you see a lot.”

At least he wasn’t denying anything.

Chris let go of his elbow and shrugged. “It’s not a talent I appreciate often,” she admitted. “But once in a while, it comes in handy. Like now.”

Steve stood there before her, head down, stuffing his hands in the pockets of his jeans.

“One parting thought,” she told him. “Just… love him. Make him happy. Would it be so hard to be with him?”

The pain that crossed his face made her heart drop.

“It’s not that easy,” Steve said so quietly she could have missed it.

With that, he made his way back into the compound, running into Bucky who stopped him with a hand on his shoulder, a quiet murmur. When Steve nodded and walked on, Bucky turned that confused expression to her, walking to where Steve left her on the balcony.

“Everything okay, doll?” Bucky asked.

Chris nodded, smiling up at him.

Bucky was more perceptive than that.

“Did he say something to you?”

Chris felt his defenses rise, held up a hand.

“He just came to plead your case. That’s all.” It wasn’t a lie. “He was telling me that he thought I should accept Tony’s job offer and stay. He thinks I make you happy.”

Casting a forlorn glance back inside, Bucky paused, and Chris realized she had the right of it.

Then he gently took her hand in his, flattening her palm over his chest just over his heart. The hope she felt emanating from him made her feel like she was breaking a little.

“You _could_ ,” he said. “You fit in great here. And we could finally finish season 2.”

Chris laughed at that. They’d binge-watched Stranger Things first season the first night and had attempted to start the second season each night since. It amounted to them seeing the first twenty minutes of the first episode of season 2 about four times now.

“There’s that,” she told him, looking him in the eye. “But I’ve got to go back, Bucky.”

His gaze dropped, and he nodded, pulling back from her and walking to the railing next to her. He fell back on that tight control over his emotions, but it wasn’t quick enough for her to miss the vulnerability there he was trying so hard to hide from her.

“Will you be back?” he asked without looking at her.

Honestly, she didn’t know. But a relationship between the Avengers and her director had been forged so… “Maybe. And we can visit each other, right?”

When he did turn back around, he nodded. But it wasn’t the same. She knew that.

Running his flesh hand through the thick locks of his hair, his gaze moved over her in a way that had her temperature rising fast. He _was_ beautiful. And maybe the world had broken him to an extent, but he still had so much to give to someone.

Someone like Steve.

Chris knew if she stayed, she would just be a substitute for what he really wanted. _Who_ he really wanted. She’d known that going into this and she needed to remember it if she wanted to keep the handsome rogue in front of her from stealing her heart.

Picking up her water glass, she took a long drink. “I think I’m going to turn in,” Chris told him. “I’m tired.”

Bucky nodded, followed her back inside and waited patiently while she hugged and kissed each Avenger left goodbye, in case she didn’t see them in the morning. When she got to Steve, she was surprised that he allowed her to hug him. He hugged her so hard, he nearly compressed her ribs.

“Be careful out there, agent,” Steve whispered in her ear.

“You too,” she told him, feeling the weight of his gaze on her as she made her way back to the elevator.

Bucky was silent behind her, following her into the elevator, following her to her door, into the apartment.

The minute she locked the door, he grabbed her and slammed her against the door, nearly knocking the wind from her lungs as his mouth scorched a path over hers, over her neck. His hands worked frantically to haul up the skirt of the summer dress she wore. His flesh hand slid in between her thighs and he groaned to find her so wet already from his efforts. The metal hand ripped her panties off, tossed what was left somewhere behind him.

He gripped her thighs hard, pulling them up around his waist, and inserting himself between them as he slid her up the door, kissing the breath out of her as he did.

“I’ve wanted you _so_ bad all fucking evening,” he growled, the sound of the zipper of his jeans reaching her ears and making her body clench in anticipation. “I just want to keep you _here_ , Chris.”

And then he was pushing into her, filling her, thrusting with abandon as she cried out and grabbed onto his shoulders.

“With me, under me,” he hissed before sealing his mouth over hers. It was a filthy kiss, all tongue and lust, and he kept it going as he grabbed her away from the door and carried her to her bed. Bucky dropped her on the bed, dropping his weight on her and pinning her beneath him.

When she pulled away to breathe, he didn’t let up, capturing her wrists and pinning them to the bed on either side of her head. Bucky rode her hard until she started clenching around him, her orgasm slamming into her. With her hands out of play and his body pounding her into the mattress, she caught his shoulder with her teeth biting down as he fucked through wave after wave of pleasure.

Bucky growled at her in approval, grabbing one of her pillows and lifting her abruptly to shove it under her hips without breaking stride. The new angle had him hitting her g-spot now with every powerful thrust. Resuming his hold on her wrists, he wrecked her, relentlessly pounding into her as she wailed and cried out. The intensity of the orgasm was like nothing she’d ever experienced before, taking her breath away as she felt his body tighten above her, having reached his own end.

Chris opened her eyes wanting to watch. Bucky was beautiful when he came. Pulling out of her at the last minute, he stroked himself quickly until his release shot out in hot white ropes on her shaking thighs.

Shaking as much as she was, Bucky collapsed at her side, throwing his metal arm across her waist and pulling her into him, his breath huffing into her hair. Once he had his breathing under control, he sat up, pulling off the Henley he wore, using it clean up her thighs. Stretching, she pulled the dress and her bra off, tossing them off the bed.

His emotions were a brewing storm and Chris found herself in unfamiliar territory. She hadn’t lied when she said she didn’t hook up with people often. She’d only ever had two other lovers. One had been her first love who’d left her with a broken heart and a sour outlook on romance. The second had been a comfortable friends-with-benefits arrangement she’d enjoyed for almost a year. Then Nick had found a vivacious, outgoing, girly girl and broke things off at record speed. Chris would admit that even though they’d made no promises to each other, it had still hurt. Made her wary of relationships of any type.

The feeling she read in Bucky’s eyes made it hard to breathe. She knew he loved Steve, but that he had feelings for her too was obvious. Brutal honesty would probably be best, she knew. Chris wanted to tell Bucky that it had been fun but, because he was in love with Steve, she really didn’t think it was a good idea to keep in touch.

Chris didn’t have the heart to do that. The fondness in those dark blue eyes was warm, inviting, and a little heady. She didn’t want to give him false hope, but she also didn’t want to hurt him.

Especially not when he moved closer, pressing a gentle kiss to her mouth and whispered, “Stay.”

Her heart clenched in her chest. The hope in his eyes doing so much more damage than the bullet ever did.

Chris turned on her side, slid her palm up his chest, his neck to his beautiful face. “I can’t, Bucky. But we’ll talk every day and we can visit each other, right?”

His eyes slid closed on a deep sigh. He pressed a kiss to her palm and when he reopened his eyes, she saw and felt his determination.

“Doll, I know we haven’t known each other long, but I think… I like this. This is good, right? It _feels_ right. At least to me.”

Her heart cracked just a little bit more as she nodded.

“Just think about it,” he pleaded with her. “I know you can't just uproot your whole life for a messed-up bastard like me but…”

“Don’t do that.” Chris was serious. “You’re not a messed-up bastard and I won’t listen to that.”

Bucky nodded. “Just give me a chance to see you, to maybe… change your mind.”

That last thought gave her hope. Time. Maybe Steve would think about what she said and act on it sooner rather than later. Maybe Bucky could have the love he wanted and all she had to do was hang on until it happened. Or until Bucky found someone else who, unlike her, would love him anyway, regardless of the fact that his heart had probably belonged to Steve for the better part of a century.

Chris nodded, hoping she was doing a decent job of keeping her own insecurities under his radar. It would be so easy to love him, so easy to give him what he thought he wanted to be happy.

She just knew she’d never survive eventually losing him when Steve came to his senses. And it was going to happen. Not if, _when_.

Easing herself closer to him, Chris tucked her head into his chest, draping an arm and a leg across him. If nothing else, she’d enjoy tonight. Bucky hummed happily, stroking his flesh hand through her hand and holding her.

Maybe they’d see each other again, maybe not. Her heart whispered that she wouldn’t get rid of him that easily. As it turned out, her heart was very right.


	5. Chapter 5

Chris returned home to her apartment in D.C. and, aside from the texts that came in each night from Bucky, her life went back to normal. Then he let her know he was being sent on a mission in southern Africa, not far from Wakanda, and he’d be gone for a couple of weeks and she’d hear from him when he got back. Part of her hoped that would be the end of it.

Part of her missed him. _Really_ missed him. She did her damnedest to block out _that_ voice. Loving Bucky Barnes wasn’t a mistake she planned to make.

Work kept her busy, so Chris spent many days holed up in her apartment, reviewing data, hunting people and information down. She left here and there to get groceries or toiletries, but she was never gone for longer for an hour or so.

By the sixth week, Chris still missed him, but it was getting better and worse. Was he just out for the mission still? Or had he found someone else? Had Steve finally stopped being an idiot?

Lisa Medford, another agent she’d worked with a couple of years before called her that Friday night, inviting her out for dinner and drinks. Considering she’d been living in her pajamas for the last two weeks, it sounded fun. They met up at one of her favorite Italian restaurants in the city and enjoyed dinner, wine. Wine led to the bar on the next block and pool. And whiskey shots.

Chris was flying high by the time it got past midnight.

“I’m never playing pool with you again,” Lisa let her know, hands on her hips as she went down in defeat.

“Told you I do better when I’m buzzed,” Chris teased her, clearing the last three balls on the table to end the game.

“Can we get in on the next game?” a tall, blond guy who’d been eying them from the bar the last couple of hours. He looked to be somewhere in his twenties, maybe a smidge younger than Lisa and herself. His friend had red hair and a red face from drinking. His gaze slid over Chris in a way that she really didn’t appreciate.

“Or you could just go home with us,” the ginger told them with a toothy grin.

Lisa had been about to say something when an all too familiar voice said, “They were just leaving.”

Chris spun around to see Bucky standing there behind her, glaring at the other men. He was an intimidating figure in a black leather jacket and jeans.

“Chill, dude,” the ginger said in a sarcastic tone. “We were just asking.”

“And you just got an answer,” Bucky told him, his flesh hand pulling her jacket from the back of her chair and wrapping it around her shoulders.

“What are you doing here?” Chris asked, feeling a little intimidated as the two guys moved on quickly to another part of the bar.

“I came to see _you_ , doll,” he told her, so much emotion in those blue eyes that she’d missed. “You said we could visit each other, remember?”

Chris did remember. “This isn’t visiting. This is stalking. How did you find me?”

“Experience from an old job,” he replied. “Let’s head back to your place.”

Chris blew out an exhale. She got that reference. It was late, and it would be easier to deal with the situation if she called it night and took him home.

“Lisa, I’m sorry,” Chris offered. “This is Bucky. Bucky this is Lisa. We used to work together.”

Bucky didn’t offer a hand, but he did nod.

“Sorry about this, but I’m going to have to call it a night,” was the best she could do.

Lisa wasn’t letting her off the hook that easily.

“I don’t blame you,” Lisa said grinning at Bucky. Grabbing her purse, she told Bucky it was nice to meet him. Leaning in to whisper to Chris. “I _know_ who that is. I want this story later.”

With that, Lisa made her way out of the bar and Bucky steered her in the same direction. Chris didn’t say anything as they started walking up the sidewalk.

“You’re quiet, doll,” Bucky said, but she could feel his worry beneath that cool facade. “Not happy to see me?”

Chris took his left hand in hers, holding it as they walked along. She could feel the hardness of the metal through the black glove.

“I _am_ happy to see you,” Chris admitted. “I just didn’t expect you to surprise me out on the town.”

“I didn’t expect you to be out on the town.”

Fair enough. Chris smirked at him. “I get out once in a while. Lisa’s a lot of fun.”

“Especially when you’re hammered, huh?” Bucky’s voice was sharper with her, letting her know he wasn’t happy.

“Are you _mad_ at me?” Chris asked.

“Mad’s not the word I’d use,” Bucky said as they walked along.

“What word would you use?” She wanted to know.

Bucky blew out an exhale. “Look you’ve clearly had quite a bit to drink and those two guys who were coming on to you back there are quite a bit bigger than you are doll. Wasn’t that a little careless?”

“I’m also a fucking FBI agent, Bucky.” Chris let go of his hand, losing her temper. “I’m not an Avenger, granted, but I can handle myself. I don’t need you or anyone else to rescue me.”

Chris sped up, but he kept pace with her. After a few minutes, he apparently couldn’t take the silence.

“M’sorry,” he muttered. “I just didn’t like the way either of them looked at you.”

Chris stopped, grinning at him. “See? That wasn’t so hard, was it?”

Slowly, he returned her smile, reclaiming her hand as her apartment building came into view.

“You’ve already been to my apartment, haven’t you?”

Bucky nodded. “It was the first place I checked.”

Chris didn’t want to know how he figured out from there where she actually was.

“So, are you just now done with the mission then?”

He nodded, leading her across the street to her building. “Came straight here.”

Sure enough, he knew exactly which door was hers. When she let them in, she saw a huge bag on her kitchen table.

“You’ve been _in_ here?” she asked, her brows raised.

“You wanted me to carry a bag filled with guns and ammo around New York looking for you?” Bucky smirked, stepping closer.

“It was a bit of a gamble, wasn’t it soldier?” Chris teased, still enjoying the buzz of the alcohol.

He took another step forward. “I knew you’d let me in.”

Chris was backed into her couch and it wasn’t anything for him to push her back onto it, following her down until she was pinned under a couple hundred pounds of impassioned soldier. His mouth claimed hers a little roughly as he pulled off his jacket, then his shirt. Then he began stripping off the dress she wore, and stitches popped, he wasn’t delicate about it.

“I haven’t thought about anything else,” he whispered hotly in her ear, “except you.”

Chris doubted that. Still, she could pretend.

Chris gasped as his lips blazed a path down her neck to her breasts before latching on to one nipple, teasing her with his tongue until all she could do was card her hands into his hair and hang on. The cool metal of his hand slid up her thigh, dragging up her skirt while he insinuated his hips between her thighs.

“I promise I’ll take my time with you later,” he huffed out, ripping off her best pair of panties in his haste to get what he wanted. His flesh fingers found her desperate for his touch, wet and aching. “I need to be inside you right now.”

He could move so fast. One moment rolling on a condom he’d pulled from the pocket of his jeans as he’d shoved them down over his hips, the next he was buried inside her, angling his thrusts so he could find her g-spot. Orgasm rode her as hard and fast as he did, his kisses stealing her breath as she just tried to keep up with him.

“Chris,” he whispered in her ear, teasing her clit with his fingers in a way that had her screaming. “That’s it. Scream for me, Chris. Give me everything you’ve got.”

Chris came hard and he went on, prolonging it as long as he could.

Bucky was right behind her, growling out as he came, thrust into her powerfully, taking her breath away.

Chris lay stunned beneath him, still buzzed from the alcohol, definitely buzzed from him. One thing was definitely clear to her as they lay there trying to catch their breath.

She _had_ missed him.

He eased off her and that’s when she saw the bruises covering his torso, small cuts and wounds.

“You’re hurt?” Chris raised a hand to deep looking wound just under his good shoulder.

He took her hand, pressed a kiss to her palm. “It’s okay, doll. They’ll be gone by tomorrow. I heal quickly.”

She groaned as she sat up and he frowned. “You okay, doll baby?”

“I’ll be feeling this tomorrow,” Chris said with a laugh. “I’m _not_ enhanced like you. But I’ll be okay.”

Bucky stroked her back, swept a lock of her hair behind her ear. “Sorry I was a jealous punk back there. But you’ve got to be careful out there, Chris. You know that.”

“I’ll be fine,” she told him, stripping out of what was left of her dress. “Besides, for most intents and purposes, I really don’t exist. The FBI likes it that way. No one is looking for me, Bucky.”

“You’d be surprised,” he said sadly. “I’m sure many people I killed for HYDRA thought the same thing.”

Her legs were shaking as she rose from the couch, Bucky’s gaze slid over her naked form. The underlying need for her reaching her, making her feel elated and trapped at the same time.

“I’m ready for bed,” she said apologetically.

Bucky’s expression was deliberately neutral. There was something troubling him, something he wasn’t telling her.

“Are you staying?” she wanted to know.

Getting rid of his jeans and shoes, leaving his clothes where they were, Bucky nodded. “Let’s get a shower.”

 

___

 

Chris walked into the bedroom, fresh from a shower and wearing only a towel wrapped around her slim body. He watched her stop at the table beside her bed, removing her jewelry while his gaze took in all of that creamy, white flesh. Yes, she was slender but there was a grace to her, how she moved, the lines of her body. He’d thought she was beautiful the minute he’d first seen her in the compound.

His face flushed in shame as he stood there watching her, knowing she wasn’t aware of his presence yet while Bucky was still in the shower. He shouldn’t be standing there ogling her, fighting base desires for a woman who wasn’t his.

“Steve,” she said, turning to face him. “Do you guys have something against knocking?”

How was she always able to sense him?

She’d tried to sound like she was joking but the way her small hand tightened on the front of the towel, let him know she was nervous.

His heart sank a little. “I’m sorry,” he said quietly. “I’m here for Bucky. It would be best not to alert anyone to our presence here.”

“I’d guessed that,” Chris told him. “Is everything okay?”

There was a softness to her gray eyes when he said his best friend’s name. He knew she cared about him and he wanted that for his friend. He wanted Bucky to have _someone_. Bucky really seemed to care about her too, else he wouldn’t be here at the first opportunity he had.

Steve had just not been prepared for the impact _that_ would have on him.

Bucky had been _his_. Even when he had no one, he’d always had Bucky. When he’d gotten him back, fought for him, Bucky had been so broken. Even after Shuri in Wakanda had gotten rid of the triggers in his mind, Bucky had been a shell of himself, struggling for long months just to get through a normal day.

Slowly, so slowly, he became part of the team, was accepted even by Tony Stark himself which was a small miracle in itself. He knew Bucky was lonely, he came to realize that Bucky would seek out companionship. The type they’d once shared. The type he’d give anything to have with Bucky again.

But loving Steve had gotten Bucky killed, or so he thought for years. Then he found out his lover’s fate had been far worse, he’d been turned into the Fist of HYDRA, a killing machine that he and his team struggled to contain when they’d first discovered his identity. And that had been Steve’s fault too.

Did he really want to lose the man who meant so much to him _again_? He couldn’t bear it.

Steve had been okay when Bucky brought home the occasional man or woman. None of it seemed personal or particularly special. Many of them had seemed as broken as Bucky himself. Steve had turned a blind eye, wanting whatever Bucky wanted to feel like himself again. Slowly the shadows behind Bucky’s eyes began to fade except for odd moments Steve caught him staring at him but he wouldn’t let himself stop and think about that.

And then Chris came along, and she’d upended _everything_.

Bucky was serious about her, endangering the mission in Africa more than once because he was frustrated he couldn’t contact her. The end result was that he broke the agreement Steve had made on his behalf. When he joined the Avengers, it was under the condition that Steve could control him. He wouldn’t leave the compound. His whereabouts would be known at any given time, Steve would manage him.

And _here_ they were.

Steve didn’t blame him. If Chris had gone for him instead, he might have…

No, he stopped himself. He wouldn’t have gone for Chris no matter how much he was attracted to her – and he _really_ was. It would have felt like he was betraying Bucky. It was the central reason he kept putting off Sharon each time she came to see him.

“Steve, what the _fuck_ are you doing here?” Bucky growled at him, walking out with a towel wrapped around his hips and glaring at him.

“Why are _you_ here?” Steve asked him. “You know you’re supposed to be at the compound. It was part of the agreement.”

Chris’s eyes moved from Bucky back to Steve. He didn’t like the pain he read there.

“Bucky,” Chris said softly. “You’re not supposed to be here? Then why…”

Bucky shook his head angrily, dropping the towel to the floor before stalking out to the living room for his clothes. Steve followed him there, admiring the view of Bucky he’d been imagining for way too long. Chris stayed where she was. In the quiet of her apartment, it wasn’t like she’d be unable to hear what they were saying.

“Really, Steve?” Bucky bit out. “You could’ve called. But no, you show up here acting like a fucking creep to drag me back to the compound. You couldn’t just give me this, could you? Not one fucking night.”

The anger in his voice was blistering. Steve knew he deserved it.

“Bucky, I’m sorry about the agreement,” Steve’s tone had a note of pleading. “It was the only way I could get them to give you some sort of freedom.”

“Freedom?” Bucky’s voice raised. “From who?”

“What?”

“Why are you really here, Steve?” Bucky challenged him. “Are you here because Ross or Stark called you up? Threatened you until you agreed to drag me back kicking and screaming?”

Well, no. That hadn’t happened. _Yet._ “Bucky –”

“That’s what I thought,” Bucky sounded bitter. He could see right through Steve. He always could. “So why are you _really_ here?”

_Oh, shit._ Bucky went there.

“What other reason would I have?” Steve asked, but crumbling inside because he knew he’d been caught.

“Chris,” Bucky told him.

That must have had her curiosity up enough that she dropped her towel, pulled her robe from the back of her bathroom door, and wrapped it around herself, padding quietly out to the doorway of her bedroom to see Bucky angrily pulling on his jeans.

“Chris?” Steve wanted to sound as if he were confused. In truth, he was panicking at being confronted on the one subject he worked so hard to avoid.

“Chris.” Bucky glared at him, stepping closer. “What’s bothering you, Stevie? That I’m with her and you’re not?”

Steve felt his face heat up. “Buck, no. I’m happy for you, I –”

“Don’t fucking lie to me!” Bucky yelled. “You wanted her when she showed up, same as I did. Admit it!”

Steve looked lost, scrambling to think of any explanation to give his best friend. What was he supposed to say now? That Bucky was right, and he _had_ been attracted to Chris? That he was jealous of her at the same time for laying claim to Bucky’s heart?

“No?” Bucky stared him down when he didn’t offer an answer. “Then maybe I’ve got it backward. Maybe you’re bothered because she’s with _me_ and _you_ aren’t.”

Steve’s anger began to build. “This is not the time and place for this.”

“You _made_ it the time and place for this,” Bucky told him. “Were you here earlier? Did you see me fuck her?”

“Bucky, stop,” Steve growled. “No, I wouldn’t do that.”

“No, of course not. That’s it though, isn’t it?” Bucky pulled on his shirt. “You’re worried about what people would think. How would it look if Captain America was fucking a man? And not just any man but his pathetic, brain-washed best friend who killed scores of people for HYDRA.”

“No, I—"

“You don’t want me anymore, but you don’t want anyone else to have me? Is that it?” Bucky said in a way too calm voice. ”You were okay with my fucking someone here or there. The minute someone else started to matter… and here we are.”

“Please show yourselves out when you’re done,” Chris whispered in a broken voice.

Both men watched as she darted into her bedroom and locked the door. A symbolic move since either of them could easily take down the door if they wanted.

The pain on Bucky’s face broke him, made Steve’s stomach turn.

Bucky loudly exhaled. “Why couldn’t you let me have this? If you’re not going to love me, why can’t you let me go and find someone who will?”

Having put on his shoes, pulled on his jacket, Bucky snatched his bag from the kitchen table and stormed out the front door to Chris’s apartment.

Steve had fucked up. _Badly_.

Looking back at her door, his heart sank. This wasn’t her fault and he truly felt sorry. He knew he should at least try to apologize to her for this. This particular result wasn’t at all what he imagined or wanted.

He _should_ apologize but the words stuck in his throat.

Steve left quietly, locking the door behind him.


	6. Chapter 6

Chris swore off relationships after that.

What was the point when they always ended badly?

It was only supposed to have been a fling and emotions weren’t supposed to be involved.

But Chris had fallen for someone she shouldn’t have fallen in love with -- he loved someone else.

The day after Bucky and Steve had left her apartment, she’d been nursing a hangover and a broken heart. Both of them texted her ad nauseum, asking to see her. Asking for a chance to explain. Bucky begged her to talk to him, to see him. Steve begged for the same thing on Bucky’s behalf.

Chris didn’t answer either of them. After a couple of weeks, she got a new cell number and she knew exactly how to keep it hidden – even from Tony Stark. There was a reason he’d offered her a job after all.

She worked, she ate, she slept. She existed but it was a shit way to live.

She wished she’d never been sent to the Avengers compound.

Three months had passed when someone knocked on her door and her heart leaped into her throat. Looking through the door viewer, she found an Avenger. It was one she wouldn’t have expected to show up at her door.

_Shit._

At least she’d showered today, and her apartment was reasonably clean.

Blowing out an exhale, she opened the door.

Tony Stark’s face lit up. “Hey, Chris. How are you?”

And he marched past her into her apartment.

“Please come in,” she said sarcastically.

Tony plopped down on her couch, studying her. “Your hair is growing out. It’s pretty.”

“Thanks,” Chris said with no enthusiasm or attempt to be friendly. “What do you want?”

“The direct approach, good,” he started. “Chris, we need to talk.”

Sitting in the chair across from him, she shrugged. “What about?”

“I think you have an idea,” Tony told her. “I have an idea, but I haven’t solved the entire puzzle yet. I’m hoping you can help me with that.”

When Chris had nothing else to say, Tony went on. “Here’s the thing. I’m like a co-leader of the Avengers Initiative, okay? And I’m having a problem with a couple of my team members.”

“Bucky and Steve?”

“Got it in one,” Tony told her. “As I understand it, well I don’t understand it actually, but you had a thing with Barnes.”

Chris had nothing to hide. “Correct.”

“That didn’t end well as I understand it,” Tony pushed on.

“It was just supposed to _end_ ,” Chris explained. “I was supposed to go back to the FBI, my life, and that was that.”

“Yeah, you forgot to tell Barnes that,” Tony told her.

“He knew,” she whispered.

“You _didn’t_ lead him on in any way?” Tony asked.

_Shit._

“That wasn’t my intention,” Chris said.

“You know what they say about the road to hell.”

Chris sighed. “Okay, I didn’t _end_ it end it. I realize that I should have but there was a reason… I didn’t want to hurt him.”

“Dragging it out wasn’t going to hurt him worse?” Tony wondered aloud.

“I didn’t really think _I_ was going to hurt him,” Chris explained. “He’s in love with… someone else. I knew that going in and that’s why I tried to stay out of it emotionally. I was supposed to fade into the background and they were supposed to find each other. It just didn’t work.”

Tony nodded his understanding. “It never does, kid.”

Then Tony thought about what she said. “Wait, who is Barnes in love with then if not you?”

Chris rolled her eyes. “Search your feelings, Luke.”

“Star Wars reference,” Tony caught on. “Wait.” His eyes widened. “Cap? You think he’s in love with Steve?”

“I _know_ he is.”

“Son of a bitch, a lot of things make sense now,” Tony said. “Huh, you really _are_ an empath.”

“What?” That got Chris’s attention. “No, I’m not.”

“Yes, you _are_. Wanda picked it up that week you stayed with us. She would know.” Tony stood, started pacing. “Okay, _now_ everything is falling into place. I think.”

“ _What_ makes sense?” She was afraid to ask.

“Well, I’ve got Barnes who was actually starting to come around to being somewhat normal, talking to people who aren’t Steve, when you came along. Now he’s all broody again. No, he’s worse. He’s not even talking to Steve now and that’s where it becomes a problem. Steve leads missions but his head’s not in the game. Maybe it’s because you’re right and he loves Barnes, not that there’s anything wrong with that –”

Chris snickered at the Friends’ reference.

“But for safety’s sake, we need Steve with his head in the game. Did Steve break you two up?” Tony wanted to know.

“He showed up here,” Chris told him. “There was a mission to South Africa and Bucky came here after it, looking for me. I didn’t know he wasn’t supposed to.”

“He’s supposed to stay at the compound.” Tony stopped pacing. “That wasn’t your fault or your responsibility to know that, Chris.”

“Steve showed up,” Chris told him. “Bucky got very upset and they got into a fight. I just… removed me from the situation. I learned I was right. They used to… love each other. Be together. My involvement was only going to make matters worse for them. You get that right?”

“It already did,” Tony told her. “That’s why I’m here.”

“Why?” Chris asked, getting more frustrated by the minute. “They belong _together_ , Tony. Get them to couples’ counseling and that should take care of it.”

“Maybe. _Maybe_ what you’re saying is true, Chris. But Barnes also wants _you_ ,” Tony told her.

Chris shook her head. “I can’t help you with that.”

“Well, that’s what I came here to make sure of,” Tony kneeled in front of her, looking her in the eyes. “All you have to do is tell me that you don’t feel _anything_ for Barnes and you’re off the hook. Done with the Avengers.”

Chris couldn’t hold the gaze, feeling her face heat up.

“See? That’s very telling. That and the fact that all of your online behavioral patterns changed.”

Her head snapped up. “Excuse me?”

“Your online behavioral patterns, all changed. You changed your phone number and everything.” Tony rose to his feet. “Oh, you did a good job at work. Not saying that. But you stopped gaming, stopped shopping – as often. Your time online went down a full twenty-three percent. All strong indicators that _someone_ is upset.”

“You traced me?” Chris asked. “How is _that_ your business?”

“The Avengers is my business,” he replied. “As is anything that has an effect on them. And you do. And I _think_ , you care about Barnes. Wanda thinks you have the hots for Steve too, but I’ll take your word for it.”

_Christ, how did it get this far? Damn you, Wanda._

“So now what?” Chris wanted to know. “You came here to find out if I fucked up your team and I have. What are you going to do?”

Tony’s smile was kind. His unique brand of snark was absent.

“I _did_ offer you a job,” Tony reminded her.

“I have a job,” Chris told him. “I _like_ working for the FBI.”

“Working for me would be more fun,” Tony mused. “But that’s your choice. Offer is still open, by the way. But I guess I just want to ask for one thing.”

“What?”

“Rogers wants to come to talk to you,” Tony said. “He wants to apologize. Would you just do that?”

 _Come on._ “What’s that going to solve, Tony?”

“If it will help get his head back in the game and protect the lives of my team… see where I’m going with this?”

“How can either of them be that upset over _me_?”

“Don’t sell yourself short, kid. Just… if you would just agree to talk to him, Chris, I would very much be in your debt.” Tony’s expression was so sincere.

It was surreal. Her idol here in her apartment. He’d offered her a job. He was begging her to talk to Captain America, the hero who was in love with the same man as her. You couldn’t make this stuff up.

“You _did_ fall for Barnes, didn’t you?”

Tony pinned her with those dark eyes. Chris felt tears sting the backs of her eyes.

“Why is that? Why? It was one week. _Less_ than a week, Tony. It doesn’t make sense.”

“Matters of the heart never do.” Tony sighed. “Will you please talk to Steve?”

Chris didn’t really see a way out of this.

“And if I do?”

“No more conditions.” Tony held up his hands. “I’m just hoping that this talk can happen, and things can get resolved one way or another. Okay?”

Chris nodded. “Okay.”

Standing, Chris let him pull her in for a hug.

“Thank you,” he told her. He meant it. “And please just think about the offer. I really am way more fun than the bureau.”

Chris had no doubt.

But her mind was on talking to Steve. She didn’t even ask how it was going to be arranged.

She just hoped that she could get through it.

The next morning, at 1700 hours, she had a text from Steve. Tony had given him her new number.

_Chris, thank you for agreeing to talk with me. I’ll be in town tonight and I’ll stop by at 1700 hours. Thank you. I’m looking forward to seeing you._

She wasn’t sure she was ready for this… She didn’t even answer.

 

___

 

 

Steve was five minutes early, the strong knock making her jump in surprise at 6:55. Taking a deep breath, Chris opened the door.

She was immediately grateful that she’d dressed up her jeans with a nice blouse and sandals, curled her hair. Steve looked incredible in his pristine white dress shirt and gray slacks. Clean shaven with his hair perfect, those warm blue eyes lit up as he took her in, his smile had her heart skipping a beat.

“Hi, Chris.” From behind his back, he pulled an arrangement of colorful spring flowers and handed them to her. “May I come in?”

_Jesus, did he think this was a date? What was he up to?_

“Thank you,” she said simply. “Yes, please come in.”

Chris went to the kitchen, realizing she didn’t have any sort of vase for the flowers. Grabbing a crystal pitcher she’d gotten as a gift but never used, she half-filled it with water and arranged the flowers there. She could feel him standing behind her, his emotions were all over the place, running the gamut from nervousness to hope to…

_Desire?_

“We could go out for dinner if you like,” Steve offered in a warm tone. “If you’d be more comfortable.”

Chris turned around to face him, folding her arms across her chest. “Tony said you wanted to talk. Let’s talk.”

Chris led him back to her living room, taking a seat in the chair across from her couch and directing him there.

Steve took a seat, his gaze meeting hers.

“Chris, more than anything I wanted a chance to tell you that I’m sorry,” he began. “Yeah, Bucky wasn’t supposed to be here, but you didn’t know that, and I handled it so badly in coming here as I did.”

She didn’t look away. She full-on took her shields down, wanting the full impact of his emotions. She wanted to know what was _really_ going on here.

“ _Why_ did you come here in the way you did, Steve?” Chris asked.

_Dread. Anxiety. Resignation._

Chris stopped to consider for a moment that Steve had lost a lot too. When he’d gone into the ice to stop Schmidt’s plans, he’d lost a woman he’d once loved, his friends. His time period. Worse, on some level, he thought he deserved the losses.

“Honestly?” he asked. “I was jealous, Chris. Of you. You were right. And I hated that you got to be with him and I didn’t.”

He was telling the truth.

_Hope._

“But, if I’m going to be honest, I’ll admit that I was jealous of him too. Not like that was something new. When we were young, the girls always went for Buck instead of me and sometimes in my head, I still consider it that way. I wouldn’t even stop to analyze why you’d choose him over me.”

And that was the truth too. Her heart sped up.

“So how did that work back then?” Chris asked because she could at this moment. “You dated girls back then too?”

Steve’s cheeks flushed pink but he didn’t break eye contact. It was almost as if he realized she was reading him and he wanted to prove to her that everything he was saying was true.

“Yeah, well, Bucky did,” he admitted. “Until I took Erskine’s serum, no girl ever looked at me twice. Not until Peggy.”

It was interesting.

“Neither of us is gay,” Steve explained. “But being gay back then wasn’t… Bucky didn’t _just_ date girls so people wouldn’t realize he and I were… We did, and do, find women very attractive. We were both really attracted to _you_. You chose Bucky, that’s fair. And I behaved badly.”

Chris huffed out a sigh. “Can’t say I really chose either of you. Bucky… I don’t do relationships well. I’ve only really had two and one was more of a friends-with-benefits kind of thing, you know?”

“Because you’re an empath?” Steve asked, eying her carefully.

“I owe Wanda for that,” she said with a chuckle.

“Does it bother you that people know that?”

“Yes,” Chris admitted. “The bureau doesn’t even know about it. I’m good at hiding it. Normally. It’s the reason why I’ve only had a couple of relationships and why I work on the internet as opposed to working with flesh and blood people. It just… it can hurt. So bad sometimes.”

“I can understand that,” Steve told her.

“Bucky knows too?”

Steve nodded.

“How is he?” Chris asked carefully.

Raking a hand through his blonde hair, Steve dropped his gaze to the floor before looking up.

“He’s not… He’s still mad at me. Hasn’t talked to me unless he absolutely had to in weeks.”

Chris sat forward, wrapping her arms around herself and planting her elbows on her thighs.

“Steve, I’m so sorry. This is my fault. All my fault.”

“How do you figure?” Steve asked, and he really was confused.

“Because all I had to do was tell him no,” Chris told him, knowing he might just think she was a terrible person but truth was best. “All I had to do was leave him alone. I knew there was something between the two of you. I sensed something even though I didn’t know exactly what it was. I should have just left him alone and if I had… “

“Chris, hey, don’t do that to yourself,” he began, worry edging his expression.

“Why not? My intentions were terrible, Steve. I just wanted a fling. Easy sex, you know? Both of you are drop-dead gorgeous. If you’d hit me up first, I would have slept with you no doubt. I’m not proud of it, but that’s the truth. See, even if I don’t enjoy all of the emotional angst because it’s so amplified, it doesn’t mean I don’t still have needs or want to make a physical connection.”

“You’re human,” Steve told her. “That doesn’t make you a bad person, Chris.”

“It does when I hurt him, ruined his progress, and hurt things between the two of you,” Chris told him. “You want to know why I’ve been avoiding you? I wasn’t angry at you. I was angry at myself. You two love each other and what if I’ve destroyed that? What if I’ve ruined your chances to be with the one you were meant to be with? You’ve been through a lot. Considering what he’s been through, how can I forgive myself for that? How could I do that to him?”

Steve’s eyes grew suspiciously shiny.

“What if you’re hurting him now but not for the reasons you think?" he asked.

Chris shook her head at him. “Stark tried to tell me that. He thinks Bucky has feelings for me. I think he wanted my love as a substitute while he waits for you.”

More color in his handsome face.

“I’m so sorry, Steve,” Chris told him, feeling the tears coming on. “I hope in time you can forgive me. I hope _he_ can forgive me.”

Steve eased himself to the floor, taking a seat at her feet. The heat of him, his presence, sent tingles all through her. He took one of her hands in his, his large hand swallowing hers. But the warmth was so comforting.

“I’m as responsible for this mess as you are,” he told her, looking up into her face. “He’s hurting, Chris. He’s closed himself off. He won’t let me be there for him. Acts like he can’t stand the sight of me.”

“Why?” Chris asked him. “Why have you never… You were lovers once. Why can’t you be that for him again? Why? It’s got to be a better climate now than it was in the forties.”

“It is,” Steve told her. “It’s just… “

_Regret. Regret. REGRET._

His emotions led her to the answer he wouldn’t say.

“You blame yourself,” Chris told him, tears sliding down her face. He wasn’t denying it." You think it’s your fault he fell from the train. That HYDRA captured and tortured him. Steve! No. That’s _not_ your fault. Do you understand me?”

A lone tear slid down his cheek and with her free hand, she swiped it away.

“He loves you, Steve,” Chris pleaded Bucky’s case again. “He needs _you_. Don’t use guilt for what you couldn’t control to punish him further.”

And with that Steve leaned forward, wrapping his arms around her waist and sobbing into her lap. Harsh, ugly sobs pulled from him and Chris’s heart broke. How long had he been carrying around this burden? Years. This beautiful heroic man was reduced to a sobbing mess on her lap and all she could do was hold him, sliding her fingers through his hair.

“I should have gone back for him, Chris,” he whispered brokenly. “I should have at least tried to recover his body. I didn’t even try. He wasn’t dead.”

“Steve, there’s no way you could have known. No way,” she whispered, holding him as best she could.

They stayed that way for a long time until Chris ended up humming some song she hadn’t heard since childhood, trying to do anything that would make Captain America not broken anymore.

When he finally started to come around, he swiped at his face with his hands. It was so hard to see Steve’s beautiful blue eyes swollen and red from his tears.

“Steve,” Chris waited until his gaze met hers. “You have to stop this now. You have to go to him and love him. He _will_ forgive you and he deserves no less.”

Steve grabbed both of her hands in his now, still partly in her lap.

“I do want to go to him, Chris,” Steve said slowly. “I’m tired of fighting it. But…”

Chris’ heart hurt for him. And that’s when she felt the hesitation. The anxiety. Was there something else?

“I understand why… he fell in love with you –”

“Me? No, Steve –”

“Let me finish,” Steve cut her off. “I used to think he loved Peggy like I did when we were all together. Turns out they never really loved each other like that but they both loved me, so it was enough.”

“Peggy? Carter?” Chris asked. What was he saying exactly?

“Peggy and I loved each other,” Steve told her. “Probably would have married her if I hadn’t… When we got together I was still with Bucky. I fought my feelings for her because I didn’t want to betray him even though he always told me he could share me with the right woman. Turns out he wasn’t lying to me. Peggy confronted him and he told her truth where I couldn’t. She was okay with sharing too… There were nights when…”

“The three of you were together?” Chris offered, a little surprised.

Steve nodded. He was just waiting for her to judge him.

“How did that go?” Chris wondered.

“They were the happiest days of my entire life until he died…” Steve said, his voice failing him under the threat of tears.

That’s when it occurred to her why he was there. What he really wanted.

“Wait,” Chris began, “you –”

“I know it’s a long shot, Chris,” Steve told her, looking her in the eye. “Maybe all you wanted was a fling with him and you didn’t feel the same way and you’re done now. I know you want to keep working for the FBI. But if you love him… and maybe in time, you could love me or even just share him with me, well, maybe we could make Bucky very happy.”

Chris gazed into his eyes. He was dead serious. He’d gone so far as to get Tony to give him a chance to speak to her, to do this for Bucky. He put everything out there, on the line for the man he loved.

_She loved Bucky too._

“Just think about it,” he begged her. “It’s asking a lot. I d-don’t expect an answer right now.”

Chris blew out an exhale. “I know he’s not the type to give a damn what people think. But I do have one question for you.”

Steve waited patiently. Hopefully.

“How is that going to work where you’re concerned? Would it be a big secret? Would it look like he and I were together, and you came to play here and there?”

Steve smiled nervously. “I’m willing to share him with you but I won’t give him to you.”

“Meaning?”

“I don’t care what anyone thinks, Chris,” he said fiercely. “We lost so much already. So fucking much. I should have taken the risk before now. I should have… But maybe now, I can – _we_ can give him the love he wants.”

Chris nodded, feeling like her entire world had been upended. It was an angle she would never have even thought of. Loving both of them? Sharing Bucky with Steve? How could she go from being someone so gun shy about relationships with one man to a relationship with two of them?

The sex with Bucky had been so good though. She missed that. Out of bed. he’d been so caring with her, so sweet.

And Steve? You simply didn’t find someone like him in this time. Someone who really was that honest, that genuine.

It was a surprising proposition from Steve. It almost made it even more tempting.

“Can I… have some time?” Chris asked.

Steve nodded, his feelings of hope doubled. “All the time you need.”

Steve headed for her bathroom, washing off his face and straightening his clothes. His hands were in his pockets when he walked back to stop in front of her chair.

“Let me take you out for dinner,” he offered. “Then I’ll head back.”

That Steve had no expectations led her to know how sincere his intentions were. She nodded and soon they were heading out for a nice meal like old friends and nothing more about the matter was said. When they got back to her apartment, he kissed her on the cheek and told her goodnight, like an old-fashioned date and it had her heart clenching in her chest.

Chris promised herself she wouldn’t let these two super-soldiers and this proposition from Steve Rogers himself take anything away from her life while she reached a decision.

The sad truth was, she could think of little else.


	7. Chapter 7

The news hit later that week of an attack on the American embassy in Australia. The initial attack amassed multiple deaths and after the news coverage started rolling on a 24-hour cycle, the news that there were hostages taken came out. Then the cyber attack hit, disabling computer networks throughout the country, taken their entire infrastructure down.

Steve accompanied Tony and Nick Fury to the FBI field office in DC. Because of the sheer magnitude of the attack, they had no choice but to coordinate with the bureau on efforts to restore order to the allied country.

Director Crenshaw shook hands with each of them, motioning for them to have a seat. Each side reviewed what they knew with Tony having the best intel on the cyber attack.

"Even if we can retake the embassy, there's still their control of the infrastructure," Crenshaw told them.

"Our strike would have to be coordinated," Tony added. "If we have them busy on both fronts, we have a chance to retake the grid."

Crenshaw nodded. "What do you need from us? I'm trusting you on physically retaking the embassy and the hostage situation though you certainly have our backing there. We can lend as many tactical teams as you need."

"Good to know," Fury told him.

"I could use help on restoring the infrastructure," Tony told him.

"I'm assuming you want Danforth," Crenshaw said, "and a couple others from our cyber team?"

That got Steve's attention.  _Chris_.

"Yes, I definitely want Danforth on this one," Tony replied. "Your top cyber agents would be great,"

Crenshaw nodded again. "I'll call Danforth and Jennings in."

They worked out a strategy, Steve and Tony coming up with most of it. Their meeting over, they shook hands. And as soon as Director Crenshaw was out of hearing range, Nicky turned on Tony.

"Is it a good idea to bring Danforth back in?" he asked intently. "Given the situation with Barnes, I don't want any drama. Especially drama that will impede our efforts."

Tony didn't even look at Steve. "Nah, it's all good. I don't think Barnes will be a problem. Do you Steve?"

Steve shook his head. If Nick thought it was odd he had nothing to say to that, he didn't say as much.

As they followed Nick back up the hallway to head out to their car, Steve's thoughts drifted to Chris. It hadn't been a week yet but he'd nothing from her. Not a word. Yeah, he knew that wasn't a lot of time, but he couldn't help thinking that if she really felt that strongly for Bucky, she would have reached a decision by now.

He even thought about requesting a car, so he could go and talk to her before this mission but talked himself out of it. He didn't want to push her. And she'd be arriving at the compound the next day with the other cyber intelligence agent.

Bucky didn't know what Steve had proposed. Bucky had been a little more talkative the last few days, almost like he  _knew_  Steve had talked to Chris, but he didn't ask.

How was Bucky going to react to seeing Chris? Would he give her the cold shoulder too? He had no idea how this would go.  _If_  this would go. He just knew he didn't want to continue on with things as they were.

The trip back to the compound was without incident and he ended up going to bed early, wanting to be well rested for the next day. Steve ended up unable to sleep, hoping Chris would call him. Text or something. What he wouldn't give for her to message him and tell him, yes, she wanted to try a relationship with him and Bucky. He hoped and prayed that she could at least give it a try. Between the two of them, he knew they could make Bucky happy. Even if she didn't want Steve, she could still maybe help him to a place where he could have Bucky back. They could have an arrangement.

The next morning there was a meeting in the conference room. Most of them were already in place and Tony advised them that they would get started in just a moment.

Then Chris walked in wearing tactical gear, followed by a younger man with large, dark eyes who looked more than a little intimidated by the occupants in the room.

Bucky's eyes stayed on her as she picked a chair across and down the table from him and Steve, but his expression was closed, careful.

Chris took a seat, glanced around until her gaze met Bucky's and she smiled, nodding. Bucky's gaze didn't move from her, he nodded. Her gray eyes found Steve, she nodded to him too. He didn't want to read too much into it, but he hoped it was a good sign. Bucky wasn't giving her the cold shoulder then. He looked so happy to see her, that she acknowledged him.

Tony explained the plan. They would hit the embassy in three waves.

Tony has allowed him to coordinate his own participation in the events coming.

"Agents Danforth and Jennings will work on getting the infrastructure secured," Tony told them. "Glad to have you back, Agent Danforth."

Chris' gray eyes locked on Tony and she nodded.

"I'll assist with that from the embassy," Tony told them. "Cap and Barnes will shadow Danforth and Jennings, watch their back while they get systems restored. That work for you two?"

Chris kept her gaze on Tony. "Yes, Mr. Stark."

After covering the rest of the aspects of the plan, Tony sent them off in their respective directions.

Chris rose from where she sat, Jennings behind her, and headed out of the conference room. Bucky was right behind Steve, Chris and Jennings coming up behind them.

"Are we ready?" Steve asked the three of them.

Chris nodded, Bucky and Jennings remained silent.

Following him to the third jet, Steve was amazed by how silent his team was. When they were all strapped in, the pilot and co-pilot in place, Steve took his seat next to Bucky, across from Chris and Jennings. Chris pulled out a tablet, letting Jennings watch what she was doing. Another FBI agent named Wills came on, taking a seat with his coworkers.

"Danforth, you ready to take these motherfuckers?" Wills asked with a grin.

Chris swung her gray eyes at him. "Always."

"How've you been, Chris?" Bucky finally spoke up, his tone sounding cautious.

"Fine," she told him, without looking up. "How are you?"

That earned Bucky an alarmed look from Jennings.

"I've been better, doll," Bucky told her. His tone held a note of bitterness. "Haven't heard from you in a while."

Now she did look at Bucky, her gaze intense. "I'm sorry. I've had a lot on my mind lately. I'll try to do better."

"That a promise?"

Steve's brows shot up at Bucky's saucy tone.

Chris cocked a brow at him and Steve inwardly cringed, not knowing Chris well enough to know how she was going to take any of this. He had no idea how this would impact her decision or even if it would.

"Maybe," she told him.

When they arrived at this site in Australia, Steve led the group off the jet, followed by Chris, Jennings, Wills, then Bucky. Natasha and Clint's team were already waging battle in the embassy, trying to free the hostages. Their target was a huge data center beneath the embassy, Steve looked in the door to see what they were dealing with.

"Chris," Steve whispered. "Can you give me any intel on what we're going to run into in there?"

Holding up a finger, he watched her type furiously into the tablet, pulling up a view from the security cameras from the security chamber – just what they needed to breach.

"There are 4 technicians in there," she reported. "Two armed guards on the south side."

Steve blew out an exhale. "Wills, with me. We'll take the guards."

The eager young agent smiled.

"Buck, stay with them until you get word from me," Steve said.

Bucky nodded, his gaze landing on Chris as Steve ran off to take care of the guards with Wills on his heels.

Chris's heart pounded a fierce rhythm as she waited with Fred Jennings, a harmless young man of twenty-three, and Bucky, who she was struggling to read right now. At least he was speaking to her. Considering she'd blown him off for months, she was grateful for that.

She knew Bucky was gathering intel in the comm he wore. He frowned at what he was getting from Natasha. "Nat, wait, slow down. What was that again?"

Chris couldn't make out what came on his comm though she did hear the low buzz of Natasha's voice.

"They are targeting Athena?" Bucky whispered harshly back to Nat. "Who the hell is Athena?"

More from Nat she couldn't hear. The throbbing of her heart was harder, louder.

"A hacker? Who has  _what_  to do with this?" Bucky wanted to know. "And is wanted in how many countries?"

"Sergeant Barnes?" Jennings said carefully. "Athena is…"

Chris elbowed him sharply, drawing Bucky's attention back to her.

"Is?"

Chris blew out a frustrated exhale. "Athena is an international pirate of information, intel. She's been wanted for years by several countries."

"What the fuck does she have to do with this?" Bucky asked, trying to listen to Chris, listen to Nat. "Aside from them wanting her dead?"

Jennings caught Bucky's gaze. He spoke so quietly, Chris barely heard him. "Athena…"

He pointed to Chris.

Bucky's eyes widened. "The bureau knows?"

Chris nodded. "Athena is their creation. As a pirate, I can access intel we wouldn't get through legitimate channels."

Bucky's face darkened. "They sent you here  _knowing_  you could be targeted? Killed?"

"There's no reason to believe I've been compromised," Chris explained to him. "That's why Jennings is with me. If I tell him how to access things, with his own signature, we win and I go undetected."

His face became a mask of determination. He killed the conversation with Nat, seemed on edge as they waited.

"Buck, it's clear," Steve said on their comm. Chris and Jennings didn't have comms this trip, so she had no choice but to rely on them. "Head down."

Bucky silently moved over to her, towered above her in a way that had her feeling sexually thrilled and intimidated all at the same time.

"You stay with me at  _all_  times, do you understand?" he said low in her ear.

Chris just nodded.

She and Jennings followed him down into the security chamber. Sure enough, the guards and the technicians were all gone. Steve watched them filter into the room.

"Chris, go," he ordered.

Chris watched Bucky grab Steve by the arm, whispering furiously to him.

She couldn't worry about that at the moment. She and Jennings scrambled until the got access to the mainframe, working on different coordinates and codes until she began to worry about their gaining access to anything. Finally, she tried a very old solution to the get in and access was granted.

"We're in," Jennings said, excited.

The two of them worked together to find the code to restore everything and break the infrastructure free of restraint. Steve came up behind her, lingering close.

"Tony's on," Steve said quietly near her ear. "He's telling me that you need to check out the Cuckaburro system."

Chris didn't turn her head, just focused on her keystrokes. "Okay."

Going into those files, she shook her head, flying blind. "What am I looking for?"

"He says an executable file," Steve told her.

Chris sensed rather than noticed Bucky take a position on the other side of the chamber, in her line of vision. He was watching Steve and herself very carefully.

Chris scanned until she found a lone .exe file in thousands, called hydracomplex and pointed to it.

"Is it hydracomplex – Okay," Steve responded to Tony. "He needs you to undo anything that file did."

Chris blew out a frustrated exhale. "Because that's  _easy_ ," she grumbled. "Jennings, here's what I need you to do."

Together they reviewed the file, reviewed what they think its processes were. She and Jennings scrambled to reverse everything while Steve hovered close by and Bucky watched silently from the other side.

Chris looked up once, her eyes locking with his. Getting Jennings to run the commands they needed so they wouldn't know "Athena" was involved, Chris watching him but reached out with her feelings. Trying to read the two men who'd basically turned her mind upside down.

She started with Steve because he was closer and it was easy. Steve was trying very hard to stay focused on the mission, but he was concerned with her.

_Curiosity. Fear. Hope. Desire._

The last one made Chris hesitate a little. She knew Steve had been attracted to her and for a while, in the week since they'd talked, she'd chalked it up to his desire for Bucky. Now she understood that maybe that desire was aimed at her also. It felt like it.

When she reached out to Bucky, it felt like she'd run up against a brick wall. He had that iron grip on his emotions right now and she wasn't able to get a thing from him. Well, one thing, but it wasn't from his emotions, just his eyes. Those beautiful blue eyes moved back and forth from her to Steve and back.

He was curious. He wanted to know what was going on.

_Well, hell._

"Crap, something's wrong," Jennings hissed. "What do I do?"

Will stepped up curious but unable to help. Chris studied the code her partner was talking about, reading through it pretty easily.

"Tony said hold up," Steve told her.

Tilting her head to the side as she studied him, she waited.

"He's taking that one remotely," Steve whispered. "He thinks it was a trap set for…"

Chris swung her gaze up at him, surprised when he was closer than she thought. "Athena?"

Chris nodded curtly.

"When were you going to share that bit of information?" His tone was angry.

"When it became important which was this mission," Chris told him.

"You should have told us," he said.

Chris nodded. "I'm sorry. You're right. I wasn't trying to endanger anyone else and I should have thought about that. You guys, Jennings, and Wills are in this too."

Steve waited for her to gaze at him again and held her gaze. "Not it," he hissed, moving to speak into her ear. "You potentially have very dangerous people after you and you didn't say anything? What if you'd been assassinated because we didn't know?"

"What if I had?" she challenged him.

"Do you have any idea what that would do to  _him_?" He nodded to Bucky.

"He'd still have  _you_ , right?"

"Maybe you matter to  _me_  too," Steve grumbled, stepping back then and watching the perimeter in a way that had engaged Bucky's interest.

"I think we're there," Jennings said, pointing to one last file he wasn't sure of.

Chris nudged him. "Let me."

She could feel both Steve and Bucky's gaze on her as she executed the final order and then all at once, the chamber sprung to life around them.

"It's back," Jennings said. They'd restored the grid to the country.

Chris heard Tony on Steve's comm before he repeated the word. "Go."

Bucky dashed across the chamber, insinuating himself between immediately behind Chris who was closely following Steve, looking like he was ready to end anyone who looked at her wrong.

Wills and Jennings followed while Chris just felt crowded. They faced several pirates on the way out of the security chamber, on the way out of the building. They saw Sam flying overhead, aiding Clint and Natasha in getting the rest of the hostages out.

"Captain, I can get them back to the jet if you'd like to help them," Wills offered.

Bucky turned and glared at the agent, didn't answer him. Steve led them directly back on the jet they'd arrived in. They all returned to their seats, Chris strapped herself in, doing her damnedest to avoid two pairs of blue eyes that were studying her very closely.

The emotions were even more intriguing.

_Anger. Frustration. Hostility._

_Lust_.

Well, if they made it back in one piece, it was going to be an interesting night.

By the time they'd returned to the compound, they'd learned that the hostages had been freed and were safe. The entire nightmare has been reversed for Australia but that did little to soothe her nerves right now.

Chris had been with Bucky and that had ended when Steve's jealousy of both of them interfered. She'd then talked to Steve who wanted to know if they could share the mutual object of their affection, the man he loved. He also put the possibility out there that perhaps the three of them…

Chris was an open-minded person, truly. Steve's proposition had been preying on her mind ever since.

Bucky was gorgeous, very good in bed. Even though they'd been together less than a week, she'd be lying if she said she didn't miss that, didn't think about the handsome brunet often.

Steve was just as beautiful, light where his former lover was dark. He was America's perfect hero, a picture of strength and justice. Inside, he was like Bucky, broken and seeking comfort. Only where Bucky had been looking for the love he wasn't getting from Steve, Steve was punishing himself and now looking for any way to fix it, even if it meant being with her.

Chris shook her head at herself as she removed the straps from her seat, hauled her bag upon her shoulder and headed off the jet right past both of them. It had been a week. How hard of a decision was it to make? What living, breathing woman would pass up the chance to give  _that_  a try?

Chris was so consumed by her thoughts she half waved to Jennings, not knowing where they'd placed him and Wills for rooms in the compound. She headed straight for the elevator, headed for the top floor. They'd put her in the exact same room she'd occupied before. She had some serious thinking to do.

Before she could press her thumb to the door panel, her bag was pulled from her shoulder and the breath was knocked from her as she was hit and scooped up, faster than she could blink.

"Bucky?"

Chris was being carried over a shining metal shoulder, watching Steve who'd removed his helmet scramble after them.

"Buck, what are you doing?" Steve looked alarmed.

Once his own door was open, he stopped and turned to face Steve. "In here.  _Now_."

Bucky strutted into his apartment dropping her bag and his own heavily to the floor. She saw Steve close and lock the door as she was carried into Bucky's bedroom and slung unceremoniously onto his bed, struggling to keep up, to breathe.

"Buck," Steve approached him cautiously.

Bucky paid him no attention. He crawled up the bed to linger over her and in the Kevlar suit, even with the heat she read in his eyes, it was intimidating.

"Now, which one of you is going to tell me what is going on?" Bucky asked carefully, his intent gaze daring her to say the wrong thing.

"What?" Steve asked, coming to a stop right behind Bucky.

"Don't 'what' me, Stevie," Bucky said still staring at her. "Something's happened here between you and her. What's changed? What did you do?"

"How do you know it was  _him_?" Chris asked quietly, trying to provoke him because this didn't seem like the lover she knew before. This was a man on the edge. She didn't believe he'd hurt her and he was sexy as hell, but she couldn't begin to guess what he'd do next.

"I've been this punk's best friend for ninety years, doll," Bucky told her. "I know him a lot better than you do. So how 'bout it, Steve?"

After a long pause, Steve said, "We've talked."

"When you went to D.C. with Tony," Bucky added, guessing correctly.

"To apologize," Steve admitted. "To try and undo what I caused."

Bucky lifted then, turning to face his lover. Chris was afraid to move too much. She stayed where she was, watching intently.

"I know you, Stevie," Bucky said in a softer tone. "I saw how you were looking at her in that security chamber back there. You didn't just go to try and get her back for  _me_ , did you?"

Steve helplessly looked from Bucky to Chris and back again. "If I have to get  _her_  to admit it, it won't go well for you."

The look of sheer craving in Steve's eyes made Chris pause. Steve knew the answer, but he didn't say it. And she didn't feel fear from him. She didn't feel regret or worry. Steve was  _excited_  right now. Chris had no idea what this was between them, but she could feel Steve wanting to go in that direction. He needed whatever he hoped to provoke Bucky into doing.

Chris was captivated. While she didn't have a lot of sexual experience, and none at all when it came to certain bedroom games that she'd read plenty about, she was game to play along for the moment just to see what would happen.

Bucky turned back to her, seeing she hadn't moved. Planting a huge arm on either side of her body, Bucky loomed over her.

"How about you, doll?"

Chris felt his hesitation but stronger was his desire for Steve  _and_  her. Bucky was so hopeful right now about how things were going, aroused. All she had to do was play along…

"Did he touch you, Chris? Did he have you?" Bucky asked, his tone calm and even.

"No," Chris whispered.

"What was that?"

_Shit._  What was she supposed to say?

"No, sir." Oh, those blue eyes lit up. "Sarge! No, Sarge."

Bucky's grin was absolutely beautiful.

"But he came to see you why? Tell me the truth."

Chris nodded, feigning fear. "He came to me with a proposal. He somehow knew how much I'd missed you and blamed himself for what happened," Chris told him. "He blames himself for a lot of things it seems. He was, well, he was hoping you would punish him, Sarge. For everything. He was hoping I would help… convince you of that."

"Really?" Bucky's emotions in that moment were ones of joy, gratitude. He still did a nearly unbelievable job of keeping control of them. "How did he want you to help with that?"

Chris's mind spun. She nearly laughed at what she thought of immediately to say. She was enjoying this way more than she thought she would.

And besides, the truth was best.

"He was hoping that we, the  _two of us_ , might be enough to… make you  _happy_."

His gaze flew to Steve, who was barely managing to look contrite. Hope was radiating off him in waves and he was  _so_  close to getting what he wanted…

Bucky's attention was back on her. "And how do you feel about that, doll?"

Chris had pretty much made up her mind by now, more turned on by the sheer chemistry in the room than she could say.

"I'd really like to watch you punish him if you don't mind, Sarge," Chris tried to sound as small and timid as she could.

Bucky chuckled at that.

"Is that right? Are you just going to  _watch_? Or are you going to  _help_  me punish him?"

Chris couldn't fight the smile that took over her face.

Offering her a hand, he pulled her up from the bed. Just as quickly, Bucky grabbed Steve by the front of his uniform and tossed him easily on the bed.

"Don't you  _dare_  move," Bucky warned him.

Turning to Chris, he said, "First we're going to secure him to this bed."


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is ALL smut for those playing the home edition and wanting to stick to just the story. Thank you for the kind words and kudos!

Bucky’s heart was flying as he took in the two things his heart had been aching for.

Steve was stretched out on his bed, just like back in the Howling Commando days. His big, beautiful frame still in his Captain America uniform, his beautiful blue eyes watching Bucky with so much hope it made him want to cry.

_His Stevie_. Bucky was so fucking grateful that some things never changed.

“You want to see him, doll?” Bucky asked, loving the way her big gray eyes widened at the offer. “You want to see how gorgeous my little punk is?”

Steve’s eyes squeezed shut. _Yes, Stevie, I can guess how many decades it’s been since I last called you that and I’m going take you apart just like I did back then too._

Chris nodded. Bucky _knew_ she wouldn’t let him down. He could almost bet that she’d never played like this before, but oh, he could _feel_ her interest. And he now knew that she could read their emotions. Being an empath would be _so_ useful for this. He would go slow with Chris to start, especially considering how they started out with vanilla sex and lots of television. At least he knew how to entice her, to drive her crazy with want.

“You going to be good for us, Stevie?” Bucky asked meaningfully. “You gonna let me show her how beautiful you are?”

Color darkened Steve’s face, but he nodded, looking from one to the other in faux concern.

Okay, his Stevie _wasn’t_ the best actor.

Bucky wasn’t worried about Steve with Chris at all. Steve would worship her, fuck her so gently. Chris was small for a woman, smaller than Peggy had been. Bucky couldn’t wait for Steve to experience the exquisite feel of being inside of her, the taste of her. He knew his Stevie’s tastes. There were things they both enjoyed from women and Chris ticked off every point on both lists.

Bucky began to roughly pull the suit off, motioning for Chris to help him. The pretty little blush on her face as she pulled one arm free, had him chuckling. They were going to have _so_ much fun with Stevie tonight. Bucky would make him suffer just a little. Steve had almost messed up everything with Chris. He’d get the story later but whatever Steve had done next? Well, he was far from complaining since this was the end result.

Steve had been just as afraid and dramatic when he’d rescued Bucky in Azzano and had no idea how to tell him he was in love with Peggy Carter and her lover. He’d damned near fucked that up too but Peggy, beautiful, strong Peggy, had stalked Bucky until the two of them had talked and worked everything out, deciding what they could all three agree on.

Those days before he fell from the train had been some of the best days of his life and he knew Steve felt the same way. He’d always told Steve he’d be willing to share him with the right woman, and Peggy had certainly been that. They were among some of the first memories that had come back to him once he’d broken free of HYDRA’s control.

Moving over to his dresser, he pulled out one of the lower drawers, pulling out a set of enhanced handcuffs he’d lifted on a mission they’d been on to Israel. Sure, he’d had hopes of what he might have the chance to do with them. He hoped one day Steve would come around, be his again.

And here it was. They’d freed his upper body before Bucky grabbed the rest at this waist and pulled hard. Chris scrambled to pull off his boots while Bucky stripped Steve bare.

Bucky allowed Chris to get a good look, not surprised at her lengthy stare. Steve was a masterpiece, all that fair skin littered with old scars, most of which Bucky could explain the origins of. All of him powerful, sculpted. The serum had enhanced every bit of him, including that magnificent cock that currently held Chris’s attention was already almost at full mast.

Grabbing Steve roughly by the arm, he hauled him up the bed, clamping one side of the cuffs around his wrist none too gently before threading his other arm through the bars and fastening the other cuff to secure his other wrist. Bucky had situated him on one side of the huge bed, leaving plenty of room next to him.

Steve looked up at him, helplessly, it was… delicious. In truth, Steve might just be able to get out of the enhanced cuffs, but he knew better than to try. Bucky flashed him a warning gaze.

Bucky leaned over Steve on the bed, just as he had Chris earlier. “How did you want me to punish you, Stevie?” he whispered against Steve’s lips.

Steve stretched up, trying to kiss Bucky. Bucky pulled back.

“Anything,” Steve muttered, fully erect now. “Whatever you want to do. I can take it.”

Bucky’s grin widened. “I know you can. I’m counting on it.”

Bucky rose and began to pull off his own uniform, stripping first to his waist.

“Chris,” Bucky whispered, “Come here, beautiful.”

Bucky waited at the foot of the bed for Chris to walk over to him, just at arm’s length.

“You ever done anything like this before?” Bucky asked her, pretty sure of the answer already.

Chris shook her head, her pale blonde tresses framing her face.

“Do you _want_ to play?” he had to ask. “With us? Do you consent?”

Chris looked nervous as she glanced at Steve and back to him. “Yes, I do.”

“Sure?” Bucky watched her expression carefully. “You consent to both of us? If you don’t want Steve to touch you, and it’s not looking like he’ll be allowed anytime soon anyway, that’s just fine.”

Steve’s eyes were dark with lust as he waited for her reaction. Bucky wondered if Steve realized his mouth was hanging open.

Bucky stepped closer, taking her shaking hands in his. “You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do, doll. I promise.”

Taking a deep calming breath, she glanced up into his eyes. “I consent to… both of you.”

Bucky was hoping for that, smiling over to where Steve watched. His cock twitched as Bucky watched.

“Did you hear that, Stevie? She consents to both of us. But you can’t touch her unless I say. You got that?”

Steve nodded emphatically. “Yes, Sarge.”

Bucky gently cupped her face in his flesh hand, enjoying the way she slightly trembled under his touch. Gently he lowered his head to claim her mouth in a soft, romantic kiss, just teasing her. As he deepened the kiss, he reached for the buckles on the Kevlar vest she wore, moving quickly to remove it from her slight frame.

Chris smoothed her hands over his bare chest and he hummed in contentment. He had missed her touch, her taste. He let his eyes slide closed as he just took a moment to savor the fact that she was touching him once again, something he had begun to doubt would happen again.

Chris allowed him to pull off the tactical jacket, shirt, leaving her in a lacy, purple bra that encased those beautiful breasts of hers to their advantage.

Wanting Steve to get a better look, Bucky scooped her up in his arms, carrying her over to the bed and setting her down right next to Steve. He situated her so she was facing the headboard and him.

“Isn’t she beautiful, Steve?” Bucky whispered as he trailed a metal finger from her shoulder down to her arm, smiling at the gooseflesh he raised. Then he trailed it back up and down her chest, hooking that metal index finger in the cup of her bra, pulling it down enough to show a hard, pink nipple.

Steve’s eyes followed the motion carefully, he licked his lips.

“Answer,” Bucky said firmly.

“Yes,” Steve answered. “She’s _so_ beautiful.”

“That she is,” Bucky told him, reaching around slowly, so slowly she could stop him if she wished, to unfasten her bra. When she didn’t move to stop him, his flesh hand pulled it away from her to reveal two perfect, white breasts with the smallest pink centers, both diamond hard.

Bucky scooped her up, pulling her over to straddle his lap and putting those delicious breasts just where he wanted them. But he didn’t go for them first. No, he wanted to warm her up, to make his Stevie drool. Bucky kissed her mouth again, so slow and sweet, drawing the sweetest moan from her. Knowing how sensitive she was behind her ears, down the long column of her neck, Bucky devastated her with soft lips, soft touches of his tongue.

 By the time he reached her breasts, her hands were buried in her hair, holding on to him way more tightly than he was to her. Even better while his tongue teased and laved those tiny little nipples of hers, she was grinding down on him, moaning more wantonly now.

Next to them, Steve’s breath was coming fast. Bucky saw him glance up at one of his wrists.

“Don’t even think about it, Stevie,” Bucky warned before sucking one eager pink peak into his mouth and moaning around it, prompting a cry from her this time. It was music to his ears.

The second moan, not hers, pleased him just as much.

Easing her off his lap, Bucky worked at pulling off her combat boots, her pants. Bucky smiled at the matching panties she wore, smirking as he hooked his thumbs in the sides and pulled them down. Bucky watched her blush furiously as he brought them up to his face, inhaling deeply.

“Mmmm.” Bucky let her pull her legs together as she watched, trying to hide from him. Reaching over, he pressed the lacy garment to Steve’s face. “Doesn’t she smell good, Stevie?”

Steve was writhing now, he moaned breathing in. “Yes. God, yes.”

“She tastes even better,” Bucky told him, leaving her panties by Steve’s head. “What do you say, Chris? Can I have a taste?”

When she didn’t answer right away, Bucky again lifted her, this time placing her over Steve. He arranged Chris on her stomach, directly on top of Steve. He placed her palms flat on the impressive expanse of Steve’s chest. Her abdomen pressed against the hard rod of his cock.

Steve’s eyes smoldered as he watched Bucky climb between his legs, pulling her legs apart. Her positioning made it so easy for him to pull her cheeks apart and start teasing her with his mouth. He started by tracing around her entrance with his tongue before sliding it down to tease her pearl. Over and over he repeated the pattern to wind her up, loving how vocal she was when he did this. Knowing Steve was watching her face as he took her apart. Knowing she was squirming heavily against a very painful looking erection.

“Bucky,” Chris pleaded when he slid a finger inside her, seeking her g-spot and finding it quickly.

“There beautiful?”

“Ahhhh,” Chris cried out, while he worked her with his mouth and fingers.

“Is she ready to come, Steve?” Bucky paused only long enough to ask.

“Sh-she’s close,” Steve muttered. “She’s _so_ close.”

“Does she feel good against you, Stevie?” Bucky continued.

“So, so good,” he whispered.

“Don’t you dare come,” Bucky told him. “You understand?”

“Y-yes, Sarge,” Steve replied.

“Good, now watch while I make _her_ come,” Bucky told him, doubling his efforts between the thighs of their girl. “Chris, baby, I want you to come. Right here on my tongue. Let go, beautiful. Give it to me.”

Bucky wrapped his arms around her hips, holding her tightly to his mouth and began to devastate her with it. It didn’t take long, within seconds while she fought uselessly in his clutches, Chris cried out as her orgasm took her over. It was all made even better knowing Steve was watching pleasure overwhelm her.

Chris collapsed on top of Steve who was nudging up against her, seeking friction.

“Ah-ah, Stevie,” Bucky warned, lifting Chris off him entirely with ease, pulling her to curl up into his own lap. He gently stroked a hand down her back. “How are you feeling, doll?”

“I-I just need a minute,” she whispered, leaning against the warmth of his chest.

Bucky made sure he was close enough to Steve, to lean over him and claim his mouth with a scorching kiss. It was all the worse because he was feeding Steve a taste of Chris. Steve’s moan at that taste was a deep rumble in his chest.

“Do you like how she tastes, Stevie?” Bucky asked politely.

“God, Buck, please,” Steve begged.

“Please what?” Bucky teased. “You wanted me to punish you. Is this not… good?”

“Please… I need…”

Bucky ignored him.

“What would you like next?” Bucky asked Chris, pressing a kiss into her hair.

“Me?” Chris asked, looking from Steve who was taking his punishment beautifully but starting to lose control, to Bucky who was ready to make good on his offer.

“Yes, _you_. Anything you want,” Bucky whispered in her ear with his eyes on Steve.

“I want _you_ , Bucky,” Chris said. “Inside me.”

“How do you want me?” he asked, grinning at Steve.

Chris grinned at him over her shoulder. “Any way I want?”

Bucky loved the evil little glint in her eyes. “Any way you want.”

Chris climbed off his lap and Bucky almost laughed when she reached Steve’s head, straddling it and facing his cock. The sweet, sweet center of her was mere inches above Steve's face. He thought Steve’s eyes would bug out of his head.

“Please,” Steve begged her. “Please.”

Chris, adorable thing that she was, shook her cute little ass. “Will you take me like _this_?” she asked Bucky.

The little minx. Bucky knew the minute Steve realized her position wouldn’t benefit him at all, grinned as he arranged himself behind her, making sure his legs were touching Steve’s arms. He slid right into her velvety heat, hissing at the tight fit of her around his own aching cock.

Then he remembered, slid out. “Wait,” Bucky told her.

She stopped him with a hand to his hip. “It’s okay,” she explained. “I’m covered on birth control now. If you’re clean.”

“I am,” Bucky said happily. “I’ve been with no one else since you.”

“Okay.” Chris hummed as he slid back inside her.

“I’m clean too… in case that’s ever… a question,” Steve griped from below them and Bucky barked out a laugh at the resentful tone.

“Do I need to make this worse for you punk?” He began thrusting, knowing Steve had a really good view of where their bodies joined.

“No.”

Glancing over her shoulder, Bucky saw Steve’s cock was angry red, hard and leaking. It _did_ look painful. Because he wanted to level both of his lovers and he just missed his Stevie too much to resist, Bucky gently pushed Chris’s hips down. Her legs spread wider, just pressing against Steve’s perfect biceps. She assumed he was making a minor adjustment to their position.

A few more thrusts, he kept them shallow and easy on purpose, and he pushed her further down. He had to grin when he noticed Steve trying to move his arms to make room for her. One more push and her gasp filled the rooms as he put them in reach of Steve’s mouth. He felt the low moan throughout his body from below them, hissing in pleasure to feel Steve’s tongue on his balls.

Bucky knew when Steve fastened onto her clit, her entire body froze. “Bucky,” she pleaded.

“I’m right here, doll,” he whispered into her ear, changing the angle of his thrusts to hit her g-spot now. Chris cried out as his grip tightened over her hips, holding her still for Steve’s mouth and his thrusts. On and on it went and Bucky was honestly impressed how long she made it. Finally, Chris came screaming, calling out both of their names as her passage tightened around him again and again.

Bucky barely hung on. Chris collapsed but rolled to Steve’s side and lay panting with her eyes closed.

Moving around to straddle Steve’s chest, Bucky finished in Steve’s mouth, roaring out the best orgasm he could remember having in many, many years.

He’d missed Steve _so_ much. Freeing his arms, Bucky leaned down to kiss his long-time lover, tasting himself and loving that too. Even though he couldn’t have had much feeling in his arms and hands after that, Steve sank his fingers into Bucky’s hair, kissing him with everything he had even though he was still painfully hard.

Bucky pulled back to gently rub Chris’s back. “You awake?” he asked playfully.

“Barely,” Chris huffed.

“Your call, doll,” Bucky told her. “Should we let Steve come now?”

Lifting her head, she glanced from Bucky to Steve to that impressive cock and nodded.

“You say _how_ ,” Bucky told her.

Chris climbed in between Steve’s powerful thighs, running her hands up and down and all around his cock before her small hands wrapped around him. Steve cried out at the touch.

“Just be careful, doll,” Bucky instructed. “He’s very sensitive right now.”

“Okay.”

When Chris began to kitten lick him, his hips shot off the bed. Bucky immediately captured Steve’s hands, pinning them to the bed.

“Your hips don’t move, pal,” Bucky told him. “They move again, I pull her off.”

Steve’s blue eyes were wide, he nodded.

“Go ahead, doll,” Bucky told her.

It didn’t take long. Chris could only take so much of Steve in, but she worked what she couldn’t get in her mouth admirably well with her hands. Steve moaned, cried out as she licked him, sucked him. Finally, his breathing took off, his entire body tensed up.

“I’m –“ Steve looked worried.

“It’s okay, Stevie,” Bucky told him, knowing what Chris wanted.

Finally, Steve came, his cries filled the room while Chris swallowed down what she could. While she finished, Bucky went to fetch warm washcloths from the bathroom, happy to have laid waste to his two blonde lovers there in his bed. After cleaning them off, he went back into the bathroom to clean himself up a little.

When he returned, he smiled to find both of them there, under the covers, lights out, with a generous amount of space between them.

“This space for me?” Bucky asked with a grin, crawling up the bed.

Chris nodded, blinking at him like a sleepy owl. Steve had arranged for her to be on the side with his flesh arm. Still a gentleman, even after being thoroughly debauched.

Chris laid her head on that shoulder, Steve cuddled up to Bucky with his head sharing his pillow. One long, powerful arm wrapped around him and Chris.

“Good night,” Bucky said happily in the darkness.

Chris was asleep already and Steve hummed happily.

It had been a very long time since Bucky had felt so content and at peace.


	9. Chapter 9

Chris stretched luxuriously, her eyes slitting open to see it was early yet. As long as she checked in with her director by noon, she’d be okay. And it couldn’t be 7 yet.

A heavy, warm left arm was thrown over her waist, soft lips teasing the back of her neck. Reaching back, she threaded her fingers through fine, short hair.

_Steve._

She let her eyes slide closed, heard the soft sound of Bucky’s breathing on the other side of the bed.

_This should be fun._

“I know you’re awake,” Steve whispered just behind her ear, making her shiver intensely. Oh, he’d paid very close attention to what Bucky had done last night, hadn’t he?

Chris pressed back against him, rubbing her ass against that impressive erection.

“What can I help you with, Steve?” she whispered in a scratchy voice.

That arm curled around her, his hand flattening against her stomach, warm and strong.

“Thank you for this,” he said. More kisses chained along the back of her neck. “Even if you don’t… I mean, I don’t expect you to…”

“What do _you_ want, Steve?” Chris asked, pretty sure she knew the answer but wanting him to say it. When he said nothing, she tried again. “If you could have _anything_ you wanted here, what would it be? Tell me the truth.”

“I don’t want last night to end,” Steve said so quietly she barely heard it. “I wanted him back. I’ve _always_ wanted him back. But… I want to… to keep _you_ too.”

“We hardly know each other,” Chris teased, swearing she could feel his blush behind her.

“Want to get to know each other better?” His hand slid up to tease her breast.

“That’s more like it,” Chris said, allowing him to roll her onto her back.

Steve propped himself on an elbow above her. One strong finger traced over her collarbone, down between her breasts. His mind was going at superhuman speed, she could tell.

Laid bare before him, Chris gazed up into those gorgeous blue eyes. “What are you worried about in there?”

“You won’t stay, will you?”

He looked so innocent when he asked that, and it had her heart clenching in her chest.

“If I didn’t, you’d still have Bucky,” Chris pointed out. “Right?”

When his frown deepened, she smiled at him. “You haven’t even had me yet,” she teased. “It’s a little early to worry about whether or not I’ll stay.”

“Did you do this just to give him back to me?”

In truth, she did. But she was also _so_ tempted by him, by Bucky. She could go downstairs right now and accept Tony Stark’s job offer, work for her idol and have an open relationship with two of the hottest men on the entire planet.

Her own fear of relationships made her pause.

“I did,” Chris admitted, “but…”

“But?”

Oh, the honesty in his face, his eyes. How could anyone not cough up all their secrets to this man, especially if he looked at them like he was looking at her?

“I was only with Bucky for that week,” Chris told him.

“And that night at your apartment.”

“I was well on my way to losing my heart to him,” Chris said, keeping her gaze on his. “Do I really stand a chance with _both_ of you?”

He liked that. His smile was angelic. That large hand gently slid over one breast.

“How are you feeling? Are you okay?” he asked carefully.

Chris nodded, smiling.

“Can I…”

“You want to play with me?” Chris offered.

Steve shook his head. “I want to make love to you, if that’s okay. I’ve wanted that for a while now.”

Chris nodded, her heart melting at that.

“I’ll be careful,” he promised. “I can imagine that we’re a bit much together.”

Steve started with kisses, soft, enticing kisses while his hands explored her like she was fragile glass. Within seconds, gooseflesh rose where his hands touched. She found herself arching up into his touch.

When his mouth followed his hands down her body, Chris felt those plush lips over her chest, her breasts. It was hard to breathe with his fingers between her thighs, teasing her until she was squirming beneath him. Pulling back, he put those fingers in his mouth, moaning at the taste of her.

It was amazing how carefully he could move, a man of his size. Pulling the covers back from her, he was able to navigate down her body without disrupting Bucky who slept next to them. Those large hands pulled her legs up, spread them wide. His rough palms smoothed over her inner thighs like he relished just the feel of her skin.

His grin gave him a decidedly boyish look. “Probably need to keep it down so we don’t wake up Bucky.”

Chris smirked at him. _Bastard._

Pressing soft kisses to her inner thighs, he went slowly, gently. Almost too gently. Slowly he moved in closer to where she needed him, in no particular hurry. When his mouth finally began teasing her center, Chris gasped, twitching beneath him.

Steve wasn’t having it. Wrapping his arms around her thighs, he kept her open for him in a way that pretty much left her lower body immobilized. And then he went to town, teasing her with his lips and tongue until she was breathless. All she could do was hang onto his hair, which apparently, he _loved_ given the moans she got when she pulled with any strength. By the time he slid two fingers into her, found her g-spot, she was already done for.

Steve was relentless until he finally pushed her over the edge, the sounds he made obscene as he drank her up and she trembled beneath him.

Chris had managed to keep quiet, something she wasn’t normally good at, but then she needed him inside her desperately. When he came back up to her to lower himself over her, she wrapped around him like a vine, wrapping her legs around the muscled trunks of his thighs.

Pressing the softest kiss to her lips, he pulled back to gaze into her eyes.

“Ready?”

Chris nodded enthusiastically but when he went to line himself up with her entrance, she knew a moment’s hesitation. He was larger than Bucky. Still, she fought to keep _that_ hidden. Steve was already trying so hard to be careful, his emotions open and vulnerable to her in a way she’d always been afraid to offer anyone.

Chris gasped as he began to push inside her, filling her in a way she’d never experienced before. She understood now why he’d worked so hard to get her ready.

Her hand was gently pulled away from Steve and she glanced over to see that Bucky had taken her hand in his, his thumb tracing gentle circles on her inner wrist, his blue eyes barely slit open as Steve sunk into her.

Turning her attention back to Steve, Chris took comfort from Bucky next to her. He was willing her to relax, to enjoy it, she opened herself up to the comfort he offered. She opened herself up to the man above her, finally sliding in until she knew a fullness that had a slight of edge of pain at first but slowly faded as he held perfectly still above her.

Steve’s eyes were closed, the feeling of _happy_ she got from him, from his dark-haired lover next to her, nearly took her breath away. Steve wasn’t lying when he said he wanted both her and Steve, his bliss permeated his entire person and it had her heart clenching in her chest.

Rolling her hips up, seeing how that movement would feel, drew a deep moan from him. It felt surprisingly good.

“Go slow,” she whispered.

Above her, Steve nodded, eased down onto his elbows to be closer to her. His movements were so careful as he began to ease into her, again, almost too careful. But it gave her a chance to get used to him, to enjoy being filled like that.

Bucky moved closer, drawing Steve’s attention, leaning down to steal kisses from Chris, to scorch a path across her jaw to her ear.

“Feels good, doesn’t he doll?” Bucky said loud enough for Steve to hear.

Chris nodded as she hung onto Steve, to Bucky’s hand, trying to remember to breathe.

More kisses from Bucky before he grabbed Steve’s chin and pulled him down for a kiss. Steve moaned, let Bucky really draw him in. His thrusts became harder, had Chris gasping.

“Sorry,” Steve broke the kiss, searching her face for any sign of distress.

“She’s okay, Stevie,” Bucky told him. “She can take a little more. Can’t you doll?”

Chris nodded, gasping as Bucky teased the shell of her ear, the sensitive skin just behind it.

Steve’s thrusts came slightly harder and he let Bucky steal his lips for another kiss, a filthy one that was all teeth and tongue. Chris watched them, thinking if she watched that for long enough, it would probably finish her off. They looked so good together, the happy they radiated made _her_ feel beautiful, happy.

They belonged together, and she’d helped make that happen. It gave her a pretty solid high.

Not wanting them to stop what they were doing, because she was getting pretty wound up, Chris eased the hand Bucky wasn’t holding down her body. If she could just get it between them…

“Stevie,” Bucky nodded to her hand. “Someone’s feeling neglected.”

“Can’t have that,” Steve grinned, snatching her hand before it could reach its destination and pinning it to the bed by her head as he continued to thrust into her.

Steve lifted up enough to make room for Bucky’s metal hand to slide down her belly and softly tease her clit, the cold causing her to clench hard around Steve.

“You feel _so_ good,” Steve told her, lowering his head to kiss her as his thrusts gained in speed.

It only took a few seconds of that before she was flying, crying out so loudly as she came the entire compound could probably hear. Gently they kept her pinned down, Steve continued to work into her and she could tell he was really holding back. Bucky claimed her mouth for a kiss, his finger still teasing her clit with such finesse, the metal warmed now until he brought her off the second time. She clenched so hard around Steve that he finished with a shout, his body tightening up all around her.

Steve rolled onto his back and pulled Chris with him, making Bucky shuffle to the side.

“Punk,” Bucky grumbled.

While they caught their breath, Steve keeping her in his arms, they felt Bucky’s gaze on them. The mood Chris picked up was damned near triumphant.

“Oh, we ain’t done,” Bucky announced. “ _My_ turn.”

Chris’s eyes flew open, meeting Bucky’s mischievous smile. She was definitely feeling sore at this point, but for him, she’d try.

She had to laugh when it was Steve he jerked towards him.

“Baby doll can use a break,” Bucky told him. “and I want a piece of _you_.”

Grabbing the pillows, Chris propped herself up and got comfy while Bucky reached into the drawer of his bedside table for a slim container of lube.

“On all fours, Stevie,” Bucky told him, positioning him as he wanted. Steve was excited but nervous, his blue eyes flicking to Chris in a way that let her know he was a little worried about this part.

Well, she could help that. On her knees in front of him, Chris took Steve’s face in his hands, began kissing him as softly and romantically as she could manage. When he moaned, she knew that Bucky was getting started on working him open. She took advantage to deepen the kiss, the take his breath away.

“So good for me, Stevie,” Bucky crooned. “And you doll, helping get him ready for me.”

Steve was trembling. Whether from excitement, it had been decades since they’d last been together, or nerves, she didn’t know. Bucky had two fingers working into Steve when she paused to kiss his neck, the tender area between his neck and shoulder.

By the time Bucky had worked up to three fingers, Chris was petting Steve, kissing him softly even as he still trembled. Then she had an idea.

Pulling back, she cupped his face. “We’re going to make you feel so good.”

Steve let her arrange him and Bucky didn’t stop her. Chris positioned him on his back and Bucky grinned at her in approval as he used more lube liberally on his hard and ready cock. He let Chris go first, somehow knowing what she was up to as she took Steve’s cock in her hand, worked him gently.

“Oh, God,” Steve whimpered as she stroked him, and Bucky resumed working his fingers into his ass.

“Ready, baby?” Bucky whispered.

Steve looked close to tears. “Always.”

Bucky slowly pushed into Steve and as he did, Chris lowered her mouth to his cock. It was so satisfying to see Steve cry out, overwhelmed by the pleasure they offered and fighting for control. Chris kept her movements slow, it was a new situation for her. She wanted to make it so that if Steve needed her to stop, he could easily do so. As it was, one large hand clutched her hair, urging her on as Bucky moaned, bottoming out.

“Bucky, I love you,” Steve’s voice was breaking. “I love you so much.”

Bucky’s eyes were shiny she noted though she tried to act like she wasn’t really paying attention. “Love you too.”

Together Chris and Bucky devastated Steve. Bucky kept his movements slow and steady with firm thrusts, his hands locked on Steve’s slim hips to hold him in place. Chris worked Steve’s cock with her hands and mouth, smoothing her hands over his beautiful form until he was whimpering beneath them. It didn’t take long until Steve was coming and Chris allowed him to paint her hand and arm along with his stomach and chest with his seed as Bucky’s thrusts quickened. Within seconds, Bucky yelled out his release inside Steve, his body shaking as he held still to finish.

Chris pulled away to get a washcloth and towel from the bathroom and to wash up a little, coming back to the two men making out on the bed as if they’d never been parted. It was a happy sigh she released, feeding off the happiness and love bouncing off the walls in the room. At least if nothing else came out of it, they were back together, where they belonged.

When she climbed back on the bed, they broke apart, Bucky pulling her in for a kiss while Steve took the items from her hand to clean himself up. Bucky took her breath away, kissing her as if he’d never get enough.

“Thank you,” Bucky whispered against her lips.

“You’re welcome,” she meant it, looking back and forth between the two men. “You belong together. Don’t you know that?”

The confusion and worry Steve felt were already seeping out, even as he was struggling to recover from his bliss. He placed a large hand over her bare thigh, rubbed gently to soothe her.

“ _We_ belong together,” Bucky told her, those dark blue eyes gazing directly into hers. “The three of us. This all came together because of _you_ , Chris.”

Chris glanced back at Steve, the sincerity in his sky-blue eyes was hard to miss.

Chris had gotten swept along into the night, had absolutely no regrets, but as the sun was rising outside, so were her old doubts and fears.

Steve’s worry was rising, she could feel it in the air and she hated it. As happy as they had been, she didn’t want to be a source of unhappiness for either of them. Bucky, who normally had legendary control of his emotions, let one reach out to her. Determination. The way he looked at her made her feel like it was _him_ who could read any emotion instead of her. She had no idea what he was up to, but she knew what he wanted.

How could any woman, much less her, have any hope of resisting them both?

“Let’s not worry about it right now,” Bucky told her, scooping her up like she weighed nothing and stretching her out between him and Steve. “Let’s get some more sleep, relax. We earned it yesterday, didn’t we?”

His actions seemed to soothe Steve’s nerves. Steve spooned up behind her and it was hard not to relax into the warmth and comfort he offered. Bucky stretched out next to her, carding his hand through her hair, humming happily.

“We’ve got plenty of time to think out everything,” Bucky whispered, pressing a kiss into her hair. “Sleep.”

Chris was on the fringes of sleep, so tired from everything they’d been into the last 24 hours. Steve’s whisper over her head? Spoken so quietly she was only guessing at what he said but she knew Bucky would hear it just fine and they both believed her to be asleep.

“How are we going to keep her from leaving?”

“We’re not,” Bucky whispered back. “We’re going to make her want to stay.”

They leaned up to kiss over her head and then sleep really did claim her.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies! I deleted this chapter on accident, half asleep and on vacation. It's back. Next one is coming soon...

The debriefing from the Australian mission was later that day. Chris was surprised when Director Crenshaw messaged her that he'd just arrived at the compound for the meeting.

Honestly, she was exhausted between the mission and the night she'd spent with the two super soldiers. At least she had a heads up that her boss was there. She dressed as she did at the bureau, a black pantsuit, a modest white blouse, low heels. Somehow, she managed to get a decent makeup job on and arranged her hair into a French twist. Checking the mirror before she left, she decided she was presentable. There was a mark low on her neck and she frowned at that. _Damn it, Steve._ One more button done up, primly, and that scandalous mark was sufficiently covered.

As she did before, she found her way into the conference room. This time she wasn't wound uptight and worried about making an impression. She was one of the last to arrive, her space next to Natasha open.

Oh, she could feel two pairs of blue eyes on her. No, not looking at you. God, she'd lose her composure for certain if she did and she was barely hanging on by a thread. It was a miracle she didn't have a permanent blush tattooed on her face after last night.

"Morning, Danforth," Tony called as she took a seat, smirking.

Chris nodded to him, to Natasha who regarded her with a brow raised in question.

"Danforth," her boss acknowledged her and of course, he was sitting right next to them. "Having trouble keeping up with the enhanced?"

Chris caught Steve's gaze, and he did his damnedest to keep a straight face, truly. Bucky wasn't even trying to hide anything with the shit-eating grin he wore.

Chris shrugged, not reaching out to read them even though Steve's emotions were wide open, full force at her. Attraction. Desire. Amusement. Damn him.

"Possibly," she said nonchalantly.

Next to her, Natasha snorted.

Tony glanced curiously between her and the soldiers. Oh, he knew something was up. He just didn't know what. Probably better if things stayed that way.

Another wave of curiosity hit her from the other side of the table, Sam Wilson was studying her. Hard.

Tony and Nick Fury got started on the debriefing, each part of the team reviewing their assignments and how well they thought they did. By the time they got around to talk of restoring Australia's infrastructure, Chris allowed Tony to do most of the talking, adding very little of her own.

Crenshaw finally nodded. "Thank you, Directory Fury. You and your team did good work. Thanks for looking after Danforth and Jennings."

"Where is Jennings?" Chris looked around, not finding the young man.

"Seriously hung over," Sam said with a laugh. "Young man needs to learn to hold his liquor."

Crenshaw shook his head. "He needs to conduct himself better than that."

"What can we say?" Tony was talking to Crenshaw, but his eyes were on Chris. "You send them to us, we corrupt them."

"Thank you," Steve cut in on that note, "for allowing them to help us and entrusting them to us."

Her director nodded. "We seem to deal well together."

The meeting was adjourned, and Chris was already up.

"Danforth," her boss halted her movements. "I need you to stay, please."

Chris sank back down into the seat, watching everyone aside from Nick, Tony, her boss, and Steve leave the room. Bucky winked at her as he walked by, and from the quick read she did of him, he didn't know what this additional meeting was about.

Steve, however, did. His gaze was steady on her, she read a bit of worry on him.

What was going on?

Once the door was closed, Clint being the last out, Tony came and took a seat between her and her boss.

"Gentleman, thank you for agreeing to stay for this," Crenshaw started. "I appreciate your help."

Their help? What was up?

Nick Fury regarded her with his one eye, his look not unfriendly.

"Chris," her boss started, and whenever he used her first name, shit was serious, "I have some bad news. Athena's been compromised."

Chris could only stare at him. "What?"

Crenshaw's expression was as kind as it got – for him. "I'm sorry. One of the commands you used in the Australian Embassy, gave somebody watching an idea that you were there. Another spider on the line confirmed it. I'm not sure what happened but they've got your identity. They know who you are, where you live."

Her heart began to pound. The only living family she had left was her mother's younger sister.

"What about Aunt Jenny?" Chris wanted to know. Her heart sank to think she'd put that sweet lady in harm's way. Her aunt had married once but was currently divorced and had no children. At least there was that.

"We're relocating her as we speak," Crenshaw explained. "Her career in nursing makes it easy to move her. Just a bit of inconvenience. We're handling everything, but you should probably send a fruit basket. Anonymously."

Aunt Jenny deserved far more. Her entire life upended and for what? Because Chris fucked up. Her heart sank.

Steve's gaze caught hers, he was concerned for her. And there was something else…

"Where am I being sent?" She needed to know.

Fury spoke up. "Considering you've been compromised by HYDRA, we collectively have decided it would be safest for you to remain here for the time being."

Chris blew out an exhale. It made sense but… "But I'm out, right?"

Crenshaw's expression told her the answer before he could say it. "I'm sorry, Chris. It's for your own protection."

Chris shook her head, shock setting in. For now, she wasn't with the bureau. And the bureau had created Athena.

"You have technical skills that rival Stark's," Fury told her.

"Does not," Tony argued.

"Tony," Steve said in warning.

"We can certainly use those skills here and we're strong enough to protect you from HYDRA," Fury reasoned. "Perhaps in a year or so, we can reevaluate the situation."

"A year?" Chris couldn't believe it. She was losing her job in the bureau because of a simple mistake?

"Sorry, Chris," Crenshaw told her.

"So, I officially work for who now?"

"Stark Industries," Tony told her, "under a pseudonym."

Chris wasn't getting out of it. By this point, even Tony looked concerned on her behalf.

Losing her fragile grip, she rose from her chair. "Director Crenshaw, is there anything I need to do to wrap up anything for the bureau?"

The older man shook his head. "It will be taken care of. I'll get your things to you as soon as I safely can. And of course, I'll keep in touch. It's not forever, agent."

"Of course," she said even though her tone betrayed her crumbling state. "Director Fury, Mr. Stark, Captain Rogers, thank you for providing me with a job and safety. That's very generous of you. Thank you so much."

With that, Chris headed for the door, proud to have walked more or less normally until she was out the doors.

Chris snatched off her shoes the minute the doors closed and sprinted to the elevators, passing a surprised Natasha and Clint as she ran by. Still, they didn't see her cry. She held on until she made it up her room – was it the room she was going to keep? – and made it safely inside.

"F.R.I.D.A.Y?" She asked, shaking now.

"Yes, Agent Danforth?" the AI asked pleasantly.

"Can you put me on don't disturb for the foreseeable future," she asked. "I don't want to talk to anyone. Is that okay? Can you do that?"

"Of course, Agent. Enabling privacy protocols."

"Yeah, that," Chris said. "Thank you."

It was just surreal. For the moment, her position in the bureau was gone. Her aunt's life was being uprooted and she couldn't even reach out to her to apologize. Her apartment, gone. Her belongings, gone for a while.

Chris tried, she really did, to see the good side of the situation. Working for Tony Stark? She could do far worse. He'd been her role model after all.

Stay here with the Avengers? Steve and Bucky had to love that.

She knew enough to know that they had nothing to do with her being compromised. She'd done that herself and was even pretty certain she knew when it had happened. Still, they were here for her even if everyone did figure out what was going on between the three of them in short order. Natasha likely already figured it out.

All of it made her head and heartache.

Pulling her hair down and shrugging out of her jacket, Chris left it on her couch, going back to her bedroom and throwing herself across the bed.

Later. Later she could piece her life together again. She could come to terms with the positives in this situation.

Right now, she was heart-broken. One small, stupid-ass mistake and she her life was upheaved.

The dam broke, and she really started to cry, to wallow in it. Eventually, she cried herself to sleep.

 

 

 

They waited until Chris left the conference room before anyone spoke.

"So, Danforth isn't part of the Avengers' Initiative?" Tony asked.

"Sure, she can be," Fury told him, "in the background. With her skills, she can offer remote support. It's not like she's enhanced or trained as one of you. It's safest if she remains here under the circumstances."

"I agree," Steve said.

Tony raised a brow at him. "What's up with Danforth and Barnes? Are they good?"

Steve nodded. "Everything's fine."

"And you?"

"What about me, Tony?"

"Kind of looked like a love triangle, Cap, not going to lie," Tony admitted. "You're not Edward to their Bella and Jacob, are you?"

Steve hated this part. He'd forgotten just how much. But if the lie would protect Bucky and Chris, he could do that. If it meant he could enjoy nights like last night, he could definitely do that.

"Everything's fine, Tony," Steve told him.

"What's the nature of the relationship between Danforth and Barnes?" Fury asked Steve directly. "Not to be indelicate but considering what's happened to Danforth's career today, I don't want things to get worse for her if they don't have to."

"Understood," Steve told him, schooling his features carefully. "But it's… casual. What do they call it these days? Friends with benefits?"

Fury nodded. "Might want to advise Barnes that it needs to stay that way for a while."

The older man made his way to the door, turning back to Tony before walking out. "Let me know if you need anything, Stark."

Tony nodded, waited until Nick left the room before turning on Steve.

"Friends with benefits, huh?" Tony was direct. "Why did both you and Chris walk out of Barnes' apartment this morning?"

"Why were you watching to see who came out of Bucky's door?" Steve shot back.

"She looked exhausted, Cap."

Steve didn't feel he owed Tony or anyone an explanation. He didn't say anything.

"No? Nothing to say?" Tony pressed.

"What do you want me to say?" Steve scowled at him.

"I want to know what's going on, Steve," Tony told him, holding up a hand when Steve tried to cut in. "No, hear me out. My compound, my people handling press for everyone here, now including her. If you guys are doing something different… I need to know so I can contain it, okay? Eventually. Right now, no one can even know she's here."

"Different?"

"Yeah, you know like back in the forties," Tony went on. "My father hinted that something went on between you and Barnes and Agent Carter. Back in the day, it meant nothing to me. Hell, if I didn't hear about you so much from my old man, I would have thought you were cool just for that."

Tony grinned, shook his head. "Now remembering those stories is taking on a whole new meaning for me, Cap. And hey, I'm not here to judge you. But I need to know if something different is going on here."

Steve didn't answer for a long moment, staring hard at the table in front of him.

"What if something… different… is going on?" Steve said quietly.

Tony was honestly shocked. Steve had to fight not to smile at the satisfaction of that.

"You mean different like you and her and him different? Like that?" Tony's brows were nearly at his hairline.

"Maybe," Steve felt his face heat up.

Tony was nearly rendered speechless. "You're serious?"

Steve was done. He went to stand up. Tony's hand on his forearm stopped.

"You are." Tony's face was a study in shock. "Wow. Cap, I've got to say, I'm… well, I'm impressed I mean…"

"Hey," Steve cut in sharply. "It's no one's business but ours. I don't want anything said. Not a word. And I don't want her or Bucky treated disrespectfully because of it, do you understand? I won't tolerate it. I'll personally put a stop to it."

Tony nodded soberly. "I gotcha. Understood. And hey, there's nothing wrong with that. I'm open-minded."

"Is there anything else?" Steve asked, wanting Tony to get it all out of his system.

"That poor girl," Tony muttered, amused, "she'd have a better chance with a bulldozer."

"Tony," Steve warned.

"Okay, okay," Tony said, putting his hands up in defense. "Well, she's my employee now and I expect you to take exceptionally good care of her. She's had a pretty terrible morning."

"You think I don't know that?"

"F.R.I.D.A.Y?"

"Yes, Tony?" the AI asked.

"What's the status of Agent Danforth?"

"She has enacted privacy protocols," the AI told them.

Tony and Steve winced.

"Good luck with that," Tony told him. "She can have a few days. That's understandable. But you two need to go… make her happy again"

Steve nodded, rose. He needed to talk to Bucky first.

He stopped at the door of the conference room.

"Is she going to be useful to you?" Steve wondered. "Chris doesn't strike me as someone who does well under glass."

"Agreed." Tony's nod was enthusiastic. "Fury wasn't kidding when he said she was almost as good as me. She very much is. But she's no good to me sad and depressed. So… you know what to do."

Steve just hoped she was okay. He and Bucky had already thrown a lot at her and then, things got worse.

Normally they were training but Bucky decided to wait for Steve, to see what the additional meeting was about. He knew it had to do with Chris. He only hoped whatever it was that Chris was okay and she wouldn't be somehow put out of their reach.

It wasn't good. He could read that on Steve's face when he walked in.

Still, his heart fluttered like a teenager's when Steve leaned down to kiss his mouth. Oh, how many years had it been since they'd last been like that? On the one hand, he was so happy he didn't know what to do with himself.

On the other, he hoped Chris was okay.

"What happened?" Bucky asked him as he took a seat next to him on the couch.

"Athena has been compromised," Steve explained.

"Shit," Bucky muttered. Yeah, it was bad. "What happens now? Is she okay?"

"Her boss and Fury decided it would be safest if she remained here with us," Steve told him. "She technically works for Stark now, she'll assist us remotely on missions. She's under our protection."

Bucky processed that for a moment. "Not that I'm unhappy she's staying here," he said, "but our poor doll baby."

"I know," Steve replied. "She loves working for the bureau. She loves her independence and she just had the rug pulled out from under her."

"Was it Australia?"

Steve nodded. "HYDRA to be more specific."

"Fuck," Bucky muttered angrily. "There's no way they're getting their hands on our girl."

"No, they aren't, but… She's not going to think we had anything to do with this, right?" Steve asked.

"Surely she'd know that wasn't the case," Bucky said. "As much as I want to keep her, I wouldn't do that to her and neither would you. Even if we knew how."

"How is going to go… with us… if she feels trapped?" Steve shook his head. "She doesn't want to talk to anyone right now. I just… I hope she's okay."

Bucky nodded. "We'll give her some time and check on her. I know she's got to be so disappointed, but she'll be safe here. Who knows? In time she might even find she's happy here."

Steve looked thoughtful. "Tony knows."

"Shit. How?"

Steve's cheeks darkened. "Seems Howard knew about us and Peggy back in the day…"

"Told you," Bucky pointed out.

"Well, Tony took that and put two and two together."

Bucky grinned. "Pretty sure Nat knows too."

"Of course she does."

"Not their business, Stevie."

"No, it's not." Steve leaned in, pressing his lips to Bucky's. "But right now, Chris is hurting. The last thing I want is for someone to say the wrong thing to her about this. She's had a foot out the door since the beginning. I don't think it would take a lot to lose her. Hell, I'm just trying to get her to give me a chance."

Bucky wrapped his flesh arm around Steve, rubbing easy circles on his substantial arm.

"I know what you mean," Bucky told him. "She's not exactly gone for me either. Not sure if that just makes me want to try harder or what. She just… she awakened something in me, Stevie. She made me want again. I need her."

Steve nodded. "She made me remember that I need you."

"I don't want to lose her, Stevie," Bucky admitted.

"We're going to have to be careful with her," Steve told him.

Bucky held Steve tighter. Just as Steve and Peggy had found each other during a time when Bucky had been out of the picture, he'd found someone who he considered every bit as wonderful as Peggy and that was saying a lot. He just knew in time Steve would come to love her ashe did.

If they could hang on to her.

"Let's get to training," Steve told him, rising from the couch.

Bucky nodded, tired from the mission and last night but eager to keep occupied until they got to see her again.


	11. Chapter 11

It was three days before Chris even bothered to check her new phone. She’d binge-watched Stranger Things season 2, finally, but it made her sad because Bucky wasn’t there to watch it with her on top of everything else that had blown up in her life. The team had been sent on a mission to Africa but were expected back any time from what F.R.I.D.A.Y. told her.

Only certain Avengers and Director Crenshaw had her new number. She had a couple of texts from Tony, her new boss, about how she could stay put in her apartment space unless she wanted something else and to see if she would meet with him today.

_Well, hell._

Chris decided she’d get cleaned up, stop wallowing in self-pity and at least see what her new boss wanted to talk about since she worked for Stark Industries now.

But she’d _been_ with the FBI. That change still _really_ hurt. And it was all her own fault.

There were a handful of texts from Steve. Respectful and just what she would expect. His messages were caring and careful, promising her he’d give her the time and space that she needed if she’d just consider still letting him be part of her life.

As if he didn’t realize how fortunate _she_ was to be part of _his_.

Bucky was another story. Where Steve was trying to be patient and gentle, Bucky was insistent, just as he’d been from the beginning. She had a feeling he was playing to her sympathy for him, damn him. And when she got to the text where he’d told her that she’d “brought his world back into focus and he didn’t know what he and Steve would do without her”, Chris paused, feeling guilty.

She picked up her new phone, not knowing if they were even able to get texts at the moment and replied to Bucky’s last text.

Chris: Hey

A minute hadn’t passed when she got a response.

BB: Hey, beautiful. How are you?

Chris: I’ve been better. I’m sorry I didn’t answer right away.

BB: I understand why. I’m so sorry about what happened. If you need anything at all, I’m here. I hope you know that.

Chris: I have to meet Tony in a couple of hours. About my new job.

BB: Are you going to be okay?

Chris: I hope so…

BB: We should be back within the next two hours. Do you want me to come with you?

_Yes._

Chris: Should get out of that at 5 or 6. Could I come talk to you then?

BB: Of course. Whatever you need. My place?

Chris: Please.

BB: Just me or did you want Steve too?

Chris thought about that. Likely, Steve was reading the texts with him. That made Chris smile. She hoped they’d been making each other happy during all this. She didn’t know Steve as well, but, yeah, it would be nice to see him too.

Chris: If Steve’s not busy, I’d like to see him too.

BB: He’ll be there.

Somehow picturing the two of them waiting for her made her feel a little lighter. Yeah, she was out of the bureau for now, in hiding from HYDRA for now.  But they’d taken her in, were protecting her, gave her a job.

And they weren’t just still focused on each other. They were still very insistent on seeing her too. Why, when they had each other, she had no idea. But…

BB: Are you okay, baby?

Chris stared at his message for several long moments before deciding to answer it.

Chris: I don’t know.

BB: Get through your meeting and we’ll be here, okay?

Chris: K

Chris showered, dressed a bit more casually than she did for the bureau. She had to laugh as she threw on jeans and a top. She would have bitched about dressing up if she were meeting Crenshaw, now she missed dressing like an agent because she didn’t have to.

She arrived at Tony’s office with five minutes to spare and he waved her in, his expression kind.

“Hey, kid, how are you?” he asked.

Chris sat on the other side of the desk, shrugged. “I’m fine. Thank you for this, Mr. Stark.”

“Tony, okay?” Tony studied her for a long moment. “So, I’ve checked out your vita. You’ve been holding out on me.”

Chris huffed a laugh. “Have I?”

“You are _almost_ a genius like myself,” Tony told her. “Fury wasn’t wrong when he said your skills rival mine. What I want to know is why you chose to do what you do?”

“Work for the FBI?” Chris played coy.

“No, why you’re hiding in an apartment instead of being out in the field. With the mind you’ve got, kid, you’d be much more useful out there. I realize you can’t _right now_ , but eventually…”

“Would I?”

“That begs the question,” Tony went on. “Why are you where you are?”

Chris shook her head. “I’m not. I fucked up and lost my place with the bureau for now.”

“Now you’re working for someone you’ve admired for some time,” he barely kept the smile off his face.

“Crenshaw told you, did he?”

“Of course, he did.” Tony placed his hands on the desk before him. “Which only reiterates the fact that you are brilliant. I just need to figure out where to put you that would do us the most good.”

“I have to stay hidden,” Chris pointed out.

“Yes, you do.”

“How can I help then?” Chris asked. “The Avengers?”

“Yes. If we did this the right way, you could almost be me when I can’t be here, being me,” Tony told her. “Almost like being able to clone myself. Some of the things we could have unleashed if I hadn’t been out there, having to be Iron Man.”

That got Chris’s interest. “If you think I could learn… _some_ of what you do, Tony.”

“ _That’s_ what I wanted,” he said pointing to her, “the perpetual student. So, you’re willing to learn?”

“Yes,” Chris told him.

“Good and I’d like for you to work with Pepper as well,” he explained. “There’s a lot she can teach you that, surprisingly, I can’t. I’d love to have someone with the know how to back us up when we can’t be here. And between us, that’s often.”

“She was the first person who spoke to me when I first came here. She was nice.” Chris huffed a laugh. “And I need _something_ to do.”

“You didn’t answer my question though,” Tony went back to it. “And I don’t think you’re the type who keeps bodies in the freezer in her basement so… why so private, Chris? There’s something there…”

Chris blew out an exhale. “I’m just weird okay?”

Tony’s hazel eyes took her in, almost made her feel like she was being analyzed.

“Not weird but gifted in some way,” Tony said, thinking out loud more than he was talking to her.

“Gifted?” Chris asked, trying to play dumb but failing spectacularly.

“I’ll figure it out,” Tony told her. “In the meantime, how about we work together each day when I’m here, 10 -4, and get you acclimated with F.R.I.D.A.Y. and everything.  We’ll start Monday. That gives you the weekend.”

Chris couldn’t contain her smile. “I’d like that.”

“Good,” Tony told her. “Some days it won’t be me but Pepper, but I think you’ll get a lot out of those sessions too. Maybe more. I’ll totally deny it if you tell her I said that.”

Chris nodded and laughed.

“Any questions?” Tony asked.

“I’m sure I’ll have some as we go along but not right now,” she told him.

“You’re an empath, aren’t you?” Tony’s expression was knowing and smug.

Chris froze at that, like the proverbial deer in headlights.

“What?”

“That’s it, isn’t it?” Tony’s gaze moved over her. “An empath could take advantage of such a high intellect, use it to keep safe behind walls and doors, remotely managing data, assessing risks. That’s why you chose this path. Does the bureau even know?”

Chris bowed her head. How had she been able to keep her secret from the FBI for nearly 10 years and these enhanced beings, these Avengers, were able to spot it right away?

“No,” she admitted.

“Do the two senior citizens know?” Tony asked.

“What?”

_Did he know about Bucky and Steve?_

“That’s not my business,” Tony told her, “sorry.”

“No, it’s not and I don’t want to talk about that,” Chris said, meaning it.

“Understood.”

“And yes, they do,” she told him.

Tony smiled.

“Chris, I want you to understand how flattered I am to have someone like yourself feel that I’m deserving of your… admiration. I’m not just your boss, I’m your friend. We’re friends on this team. We trust each other with our very lives. We’ve got good people here. Just give this a chance, okay?”

Looking at the StarkPad in front of him, he grinned. “Team’s back. Have you talked to them since the meeting?”

Chris nodded. “I texted Bucky before I came here for the meeting. I’ll see them later on.”

“Good,” he told her. “Very good,”

Walking around the desk she thought he meant to shake her hand, but he pulled her into a hug. “I’ll show you the office that will be yours Monday, okay? I don’t personally care where you work but Pepper thinks it’s important to separate work and home so… just wanted you to have _that_ head’s up.”

“Thank you.” She meant it.

Having the details of her new job ironed out, Chris headed back for her apartment, running into Natasha on the way. They shared the elevator.

“How did it go?” Chris asked the beautiful spy.

“Well, I just about had my ass handed to me, but I’ll live to fight another day,” Nat said with a smile. “How are you?”

Chris nodded. “Met with Tony about the new job. It went okay.”

“I think you’ll be happy here,” Nat told her. “I know of a couple of fellas who were very happy to hear from you. And it would sure help my ass, _all_ our asses, if their focus wasn’t so divided.”

Chris took the hint, her face heating up.

“Hey,” Nat said as they reached her floor. “I’m not judging you. Promise. And they aren’t talking. But I do feel like I should tell you that they are both close friends of mine. Particularly, Steve. And if you hurt him… _either_ of them…”

Natasha didn’t have to finish that statement.

“Understood,” Chris told her.

Natasha nodded, appeared satisfied and exited at her floor.

Chris continued up to her floor, nervous without being able to put her finger on why.

Well, she did know why. Within a matter of months, everything in her life had been turned upside down because she’d wanted easy sex, fucked up and fell in love. Not to mention that she fell in love with _two_ extraordinary men and…

_What the hell was she doing?_

Maybe thirty minutes had passed when her phone vibrated.

BB: We’re back from debriefing. Come over any time you want.

Chris sank down onto the couch, just staring at the screen.

What was she doing? She wasn’t good at relationships. She didn’t even belong here. These two men loved each other, had for pretty much a century. She was the catalyst in bringing them together, and not unhappy about that, but where did _she_ fit in the grand scheme of things with them? Maybe they cared about her. Maybe they just felt sorry for her. That would make more sense. Chris wasn’t special. She wasn’t anything like them.

What the hell did they see in _her_?

BB: Doll, are you there?

Her heart sank. She felt unable to breathe.

Chris: The meeting went well but I’m not feeling well. I’m going to stay in today. I’m so sorry. I promise, we’ll talk soon. Sorry.

Her hands shook, she still couldn’t breathe, Chris slid down on the couch so that she was laying down. Her mind was locked up, her heart was racing.

Then someone knocked on the door.

“F.R.I.D.A.Y., who is it?”

Like she couldn’t guess.

“It’s Captain Rogers.”

_That_ surprised her. She would have guessed it was Bucky.

“How would you like to respond?”

Chris started to feel dizzy. Her mind was yelling for her to tell the AI that she couldn’t see anyone. Didn’t want to see anyone.

Her heart had other ideas.

“F.R.I.D.A.Y., please let him in,” she whispered.

Steve opened the door, still in uniform, concern clouding his handsome face. When he spotted her, he was at her side in a second. One hand smoothed over her hair, while the other one took her small shaking hand in his steady one.

“Chris, are you okay?” Steve whispered, pressing a kiss into her hair. “Please talk to me, sweetheart.”

Gasping, she glanced up into his blue eyes, wanting his strength. “Can’t breathe,” she mumbled.

“I thought we’d agreed you would wait to hear from me,” Steve said over her head.

“Oh, God, is she _okay_?” Bucky’s tone was filled with worry, then he was right there also still in uniform. Not petting her like Steve but pulling her onto his lap. “I think she’s having a panic attack. It’s okay, baby. I have these. You’re going to be okay.”

Chris ended up curled in on herself in Bucky’s lap. Steve sat behind her, smoothing a gentle hand through her hair.

“Doll baby, what brought this on?” Bucky whispered. “Are you okay?”

Chris nodded. It was all she could manage.

“I know you’ve been through a lot,” Steve whispered above her. “Let us help you. We don’t expect anything, I promise.”

Her heart tightened in her chest at that. No, she hadn’t been afraid they’d just want sex with her again. For them to clarify that for her, well, it meant everything.

“You look _so_ tired,” Steve whispered. “You haven’t slept, have you?”

Chris lifted her head off Bucky’s chest, glancing up at him. He looked as tired as she felt. Both of them had deep shadows beneath their eyes from their mission.

“And you have?” she asked weakly.

“We really haven’t slept the last few days,” Bucky admitted. “We could get some takeout sent up, get some sleep. What do you think, doll? We could have dinner and then all go to sleep? Would you sleep any better with us there?”

Chris considered that. If they were with her, she wasn’t as likely to let her mind fill with an endless array of scenarios unlikely to happen.

When she nodded, Bucky’s face lit up. All his emotions uncurled from his control. _Relief._ _Happiness._

“Want to stay here?” he asked her.                                                                                                        

“Actually, I think I have the biggest bed. Want to go to mine?” Steve offered.

At her nod, Bucky rose from the couch with her while Steve grabbed her phone, ducked into her bedroom for a couple of items. Then Bucky carried her back to his Steve’s apartment, which Chris hadn’t been in before.

From the brief glimpse Chris got of it, it was elegant with older, antique furniture. The colors were light, sedate. It matched Steve very well. Bucky gently placed her on the huge bed, sinking down with her and reaching for the remote to turn on an enormous television. The screen showed he’d been watching a documentary on WWII.

“Anything you’d like to watch?” Steve offered with a small smile.

Chris shook her head, feeling like her head wasn’t really attached to her body. “I don’t care.”

She caught the concerned look that passed between them at that.

“What are you hungry for?” Bucky asked. “We could order pizza. I know you love that.”

“Does pizza work, sweetheart?” Steve asked.

When Chris nodded weakly, Bucky pulled his own phone from a back pocket and headed out for the living room. “I’ll get your Hawaiian pizza, doll.”

Steve’s brows knit. “What is Hawaiian pizza?”

Chris huffed out an exhale. “It’s a pizza with ham or Canadian bacon and pineapples.”

Steve nodded politely, she could tell he didn’t get it. She watched as he went to his dresser and pulled out a t-shirt.

“This should work as a nightgown on you,” Steve mused.

Chris weakly grabbed it from his hand. It was light blue and worn from wear. So soft. With her hands shaking, Steve helped her undress, so she could pull the shirt on. And oh, was it comfortable. Best of all it smelled like him. After tucking her into his bed, he leaned in to kiss the tip of her nose.

“I’m going to drag him into the shower and hopefully we’ll have pizza by then, okay?” he asked smiling.

Nodding, she caught his arm before he could pull away. “How are things between you two?”

Steve’s face flushed red.

“That good, huh?”

“Yeah,” Steve told her, grinning. “Couldn’t do a lot on this mission aside from teasing the hell out of each other. But…”

“Crap,” she said, shaking her head. “And here I am messing up your happy homecoming…”

“No,” Bucky was leaning in the doorframe, “you’re not messing up anything, baby. It’s not a celebration without you. You need to understand that.”

“You don’t need _me_ to make this work,” Chris argued. “You need to understand _that._ ”

Two sets of blue eyes met, Bucky nodded.

“We’ll talk about everything when you’re feeling better and we’re all better rested,” Steve told her, his tone final.

Steve and Bucky headed into the bathroom and Chris heard the rustling of clothes, and the clang of knives and other items hitting the floor.

“Doll baby, yell if pizza arrives, okay?” Bucky called to her.

“Okay,” she replied.

Chris had to have dozed off for a few moments. She awoke to the sounds of moaning and gasping in the shower, knowing exactly what they were doing in there. Chris smiled, not jealous at all. As it was, she talked herself out of slipping in to watch.

F.R.I.D.A.Y. let them know pizza was there, so she pulled on a robe she found on the bedroom door and went to the front door to retrieve the pizza. The damn near pornographic sounds in the shower grew louder as Chris got out plates, napkins, drinks.

Feeling so tired, she sank into a chair at the table, nodding off.

“Sweetheart?”

Chris startled awake to see Steve kneeling in front of her, gloriously naked aside from his boxers. He smoothed a large hand over her forehead, over her hair.

“Are you okay? We could run you down to medical just for a quick evaluation?” Steve asked, those beautiful eyes clouded with worry.

“I’m fine,” she told him, her gaze meeting Bucky’s as he came up behind Steve. “When I get this way… I end up feeling exhausted.”

“Yep,” Bucky stepped around Steve and scooped her up out of the chair while she squealed in surprise. “That’s why we’re going to bed. Steve, grab everything.”

In minutes, she was deposited between the two of them in Steve’s enormous bed, having pizza and watching Band of Brothers. Steve adored the Hawaiian pizza and the two of them had a good time commenting on what the acclaimed series about WWII got right – and wrong.

She’d cuddled up to Steve as Bucky cleared everything away from pizza. Chris fought to keep her eyes open, realizing she hadn’t really slept since Tony and Steve had crashed back into her life.

“You can go to sleep,” Steve told her, kissing the top of her head. “Bucky likes to sleep in after missions like this one. I usually don’t but I’ll make an exception. We’ll be here when you wake up.”

Chris was out before Bucky ever got back to the bedroom.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still catching up from vacation. I'll do better. ;)

Steve awoke early as he had since he was a child, stretching and smiling at the scene in his bed. He hadn’t realized how much he hated sleeping alone until the last week or so and could’ve kicked himself for not giving in to what his heart wanted sooner.

Chris was curled on her side facing him, looking so peaceful, so beautiful in sleep. One ribbon of blonde hair draped across her cheek, a sharp contrast to the dark fans of her lashes. Her hand was on his bicep as if she was verifying in sleep that he was still there. The soft sighs of her breath fanned against his skin as she slept on.

Bucky lay behind her, wrapped around her. His flesh arm wrapped around her waist, his legs tucked up behind hers. Steve shook his head, smiling. Bucky had always been like sleeping with an octopus, even when they were kids. Steve remembered what it had been like to be so warm and safe, sleeping in Bucky’s arms when he’d been small. If he missed anything about his original form, it had to have been that.

The other thing Steve noticed was that Bucky’s nightmares were a lot less likely to happen when he had someone to snuggle up to. For months when they’d first gotten him back, he’d awakened Steve with his screams and cries, ripping his heart out each time and wishing he could make it stop for him. He should have remembered. Before they’d been sent on the last mission, he’d awoke to Bucky wrapped around him.

Steve was certainly not complaining.

Reaching under his bed, Steve grabbed his sketchpad and the pencil he’d left there a few nights before when he’d been unable to sleep and tried to sketch. Normally he’d sketch something from his memory, he just didn’t have the nerve to ask someone to post for him these days.

Now, stretched out next to him was the man he’d loved for a century and the woman who’d captured their hearts in a way no one since Peggy had.

Trying to push worries about their future out of his head, he began his sketch of his beautiful lovers. As much as Bucky liked to sleep in, and as tired as all three of them were, he decided he’d have plenty of time to finish it.

Nearly two hours later, he had just finished the majority of it, Steve’s phone let him know he had a text from Tony.

TS: Cap, come talk to me.

SR: About?

Steve responded to very few messages, calls, or people who just requested his time without saying why. It was just the way things were done.

Tony’s one-word answer was one of the few things that would prompt him to move.

TS: Athena

SR: Be there in 15.

Ten minutes later, he was showered and heading out the door, looking back to his lovers and deciding they’d be okay until he got back. He didn’t intend to be gone long. He’d lost far too much time with Bucky as it was, and they still had Chris to win over.

 

___

 

Steve found Tony in his office, scanning different virtual screens in the air in a way that never failed to make him feel a techno-dunce. Tony glanced up at him, waved the screens away, and smiled.

“Hey, Cap,” Tony greeted. “Have a seat.”

“What about Athena?” Steve wanted to get right to it.

Tony’s expression was careful. Steve knew that look and it usually didn’t signify anything good.

“Well, it seems our HYDRA friends already know we’re harboring Athena,” Tony said without preamble.

Steve didn’t think it would take them long to figure it out.

“I met with her yesterday about her new job here and she seemed interested,” Tony explained. “She can handle things that Pepper and I normally manage when I have to go out and save the world and Pepper goes out to do our PR. She’s a sharp girl and it will keep her here and safe.”

“Sounds good,” Steve nodded his agreement.

“We’ll need to come up with a plan in case they decide to come at us here in the compound,” Tony told him. “They’ve oddly never thought to try it before, but…”

“But?” Steve knew something he wouldn’t like was coming.

“Steve, I’ve done quite a bit of reading on Chris in the last couple of days.” Tony folded his hands on the desk in front of him. “You knew Athena was the FBI’s creation?”

“She mentioned that,” Steve replied.

“Did she also mention that Athena was set up to look like an unrelated cyber terrorist?” Tony went on. “Not just any cyber terrorist but a Loki-level hacker who everyone whispered about. I can see where they found that immensely useful in the cases they worked, but they weren’t doing Chris any favors. They were barely keeping her identity concealed. HYDRA is certainly the worst threat she has facing her, but it’s far from the only threat. There are thousands of factions she’s fucked over for her job at the bureau, Steve, and HYDRA will make sure they know who she is.”

His heart sank for their girl. Her freedom was badly compromised.

“You get what I’m saying?” Tony promoted him.

Steve didn’t want to, but yeah, he did.

“I just want her to be okay.” Tony blew out an exhale. “Seems like…”

“Like working with us is the worst thing that could have happened to her?” Steve finished for him. “Yeah, I’m getting that.”

“You think she’s going to be okay?”

“I don’t know her well enough to know that yet,” Steve answered, grateful that Tony cared. “She wasn’t exactly out in the world when we first met her. She told Bucky that weeks would go by without her leaving her apartment aside from getting things she needed. But there’s a huge difference in not wanting to go out and knowing you _can’t_.”

“Exactly.” Tony mind was going a hundred miles a minute. “Maybe we should hide her. I’m not worried about our ability to protect the compound but…”

“Tony, no,” Steve told him, knowing that would mean sending her away from him and Bucky and she needed their protection.

“Why not? If they think she’s here, it gives her a layer of protection.”

“They’re going to be watching _closely_ for a while, Tony. We don’t dare risk moving her now and honestly, even if enough time had passed that she wasn’t fresh in their minds anymore, it still wouldn’t be the safest option for her.”

“You sure about that?”

“Yes, Tony, I’m sure.” Steve wouldn’t continue that line of argument. “Want to come up with that plan to protect the compound while we’re here?”

Tony’s expression was a blend of doubt and worry, but he knew there wouldn’t be any arguing with Steve about the issue. Not right now.

“Yep,” Tony told him, pulling a StarkPad from his desk. “Let’s do it.”

 

___

 

Chris tried to stretch, her mind clouded with sleep and her body so warm. The hard body behind hers restricted her movement. Sharing a bed with someone wasn’t something she’d ever thought to get used to.

Oh, but she _could_.

She thought it might be Bucky behind her, he’d spooned her like that the night after the mission where they cuffed Steve to the bed and…

Yeah, a _lot_ happened that night and she’d loved every minute of it. While the thought of being in a relationship with not one but two beautiful men, not to mention who they were, was a little overwhelming and intimidating when she stopped to think about it, there were also some perks.

If she could keep herself out of her own head. Feel, not think. But trying to ignore feeling had become second nature to her.

She was an empath. The irony…

Her phone was tucked up under her pillow, Chris slowly pulled it out, smiling at the message Steve had left.

SR: Beautiful, gone to meet briefly with Tony. Everything’s fine. Stay in bed with Bucky until I get back?

Sliding the phone back under her pillow, Chris intended to do just that. But she was very aware that Bucky was awake behind her. His erection was a hard, hot press against her ass and his arm around her tightened.

When she reached out to gather feelings, she felt him out.

_Happiness. Contentment. Concern. Desire._

Steve wouldn’t have even thought about letting want into the equation until he’d interrogated her to make sure she was okay. Not that she had any problem with that. Steve made her feel cared about, safe.

The plush lips of the man behind her, teasing the tender skin where her neck joined the line of her shoulder, made her shudder and grind her ass back against him. He was nothing but honest about his desire, what he wanted. He was even letting go of that amazing emotional control he often used. At least around her.

Bucky hummed behind her, his flesh hand sliding easily under Steve’s shirt to tease the underside of her breast with just his fingertips.

“How are you?” his voice was rough from sleep. More kisses along her neck, making her tremble. “Did you sleep well?”

Chris sighed a happy sound. “I slept so well I forgot where I was.”

His chuckle was a deep, warm sound. His hand slid up and over her breast and she pushed herself into his touch.

“Where’s Steve?”

“The text said it was a quick meeting with Tony and asking me to stay in bed with you until he got back,” she told him, moaning as one of those beautiful thighs pushed its way between hers. She was grinding herself against him before she even realized it.

“I think that’s an excellent idea, doll baby.” His tongue traced the shell of her ear before he playfully nipped at the lobe with his teeth. “Am I reading this right? Did you want to…”

Chris didn’t even pause in rubbing herself against him. “You’re reading this right,” she managed.

“What’s off limits for you right now?” he asked gently, his hand sliding down from her chest and into her panties, making her moan as he pressed his fingers gently between the wet flesh he found there and his thigh.

“I don’t know…” Chris knew she was scarlet by now. “I’m not sure I’m ready for you to tie me up or –”

“No, no, baby,” Bucky cut her off. “After last night, I didn’t know if you were up for sex at all and if so with me _and_ Steve or...”

Covering her face with her hands, she groaned in embarrassment.

“Hey,” Bucky propped himself up behind her. “There’s nothing to be ashamed of. A lot of this is new to you, isn’t it?”

Without removing her hands, she nodded.

“So, let’s try that question again. What would make you feel good right now, beautiful? Not playing. Just sex, if you want, and with whomever you want.”

Chris’s heart clenched at his caring tone.

“Just sex?” Chris pulled her hands away. “That sounds good.”

He traced a finger around her clit in slow, maddening circles, taking the friction of his thigh away.

“Use your words, doll,” he said gently. “Who do you want?”

“Can I have you both?”

“You sure you’re up for that?” Bucky whispered by her ear.

“Yes.” It came out more like a hiss as he gently slid one finger inside her, searching. “I need to get out of my head, Bucky. Does that make sense? I spent most of the week just trapped in my mind with all the things that have gone wrong and…”

“Shhh.” He nuzzled into her hair, the back of her neck. Another finger slid into her and he was getting dangerously close to the spot inside her that would take her apart. “I know too damn well what that’s like. It’s okay, Chris. We’re going to take care of you. We’re going to make you feel so good.”

Chris cried out when the third finger slid in. The next instant he was tapping her g-spot and she was arching wildly against him. Bucky held onto her easily enough, the second gentle rub to that spot making the world spin away from her for several moments.

“Chris?”

Taking a deep breath, she slowly opened her eyes to find Bucky on top of her, his weight mostly shifted to his vibranium arm, but enough on her that she felt secure. Bucky paid such close attention to every sound she made, every clue her body gave him. He’d probably figured out before she had that she kind of liked being held down.

His beautiful eyes searched her face. He was trying to maintain his sinful smirk but there was concern edging his face.

“Are you okay, doll baby?” he whispered.

Chris couldn’t help but smile, letting her eyes slide closed again. Bucky ground down into her belly to get her attention back on her, making her gasp for air.

“That take the edge off?”

Chris laughed at that. “That’s putting it mildly. I’m starting to wonder how I’m going to survive this relationship.”

His lips claimed hers for a scorching kiss, coaxing hers open for a deep taste. “Stevie and I will have you completely ruined for all other men in no time,” he promised.

“With no offense at all to Steve,” she whispered, opening her eyes again, “you accomplished that all by yourself the first week.”

The intensity of his gaze had her heart doing flips in her chest. She smoothed a hand over his cheek, through his beautiful hair because she could. It was moments like this when the shadows that lingered normally in his eyes were almost gone, that she wanted to make him happy. To do anything to _keep_ him happy. He deserved no less for so many years in so much darkness.

As much as she enjoyed their current position, she wanted to return the favor. “Trade places?”

Using a slick, martial arts type move, Bucky flipped them, laughing at her surprise at the quick movement that ended with him on his back and her straddling those slim hips. Chris had to laugh with him, she had _no_ chance of ever being able to physically keep up with them, so why try?

Bucky thrust his hips up, letting her feel how much he wanted her.

“What’s this?” she heard Steve’s smile in his voice as he came into the bedroom. “Have I missed anything?”

“Not much,” Bucky peered around Chris to see Steve, grinning. “I made our girl come once, just so she’d make it until you got back.”

The bed dipped next to them, as Steve took a seat on the edge, his hand smoothing over Chris’s back.

“How are you feeling?” Steve asked gently.

“Pretty good right at this moment,” Chris said with a smile.

“Want to talk about anything?” Steve made her meet his gaze, looking her in the eye.

“Not right now,” Chris said in a whisper. “I’ve been stuck in my head. I just want to feel…”

Steve pressed a hand gently to the side of her face, smiling. “Whatever you want, sweetheart. I just want you to feel better about things. To be happy with us.”

“Can I ask you both something?” Chris looked from one set of blue eyes to the other. “And you’ll tell me the truth?”

“Anything,” Bucky told her.

“You were all together before,” Chris said carefully, “with Peggy.”

Bucky brows shot up, his expression seemed to say to Steve ‘so you told her about that?’

“Yes,” Steve said patiently.

“If Bucky hadn’t fallen, if you hadn’t gone into the ice,” Chris continued on. “Do you think you would have all stayed together?”

“Yes,” Steve said without hesitation.

“How?” Chris wanted to know.

“Things were different back then,” Steve explained. “People thought differently than they do now. I’d always kind of hoped that the three of us would make it out of the war, go back home. I’d marry Peggy, Bucky would live with us. We’d be happy. We’d handle any explanations. We could have made it work.”

The emotion brewing in Bucky’s eyes as his gaze met Steve’s had her heart squeezing in her chest.

“You really thought that far ahead?” Bucky asked, his love for the other man obvious.

“Yes, I did,” Steve assured him. “I wouldn’t have given you up. I wouldn’t have given either of you up. That’s my being a selfish bastard but there it is.”

“I’m not Peggy,” Chris pointed out. “I’ve read all about her. She was someone I admired. She was strong, a leader. I’m… not.”

Bucky propped himself up on his metal arm to be closer to her.

“No, you’re you and you’re special in your own right,” Bucky said, smoothing a hand through her hair. “Neither Steve nor I were looking to replace Peggy. I’m not going to lie and say I didn’t want Stevie back because I did. But I wanted you from the minute you came running with us, flirting with us all the way up the track.”

Steve chuckled behind her, a warm rich sound.

“I wasn’t thinking, hey, they three of us should be a thing at that point,” Bucky said with a shrug.

“I did,” Steve admitted, his face coloring at the admission.

Chris laughed.

“I was jealous that night when he broke off from me to go to you in D.C.,” Steve admitted. “I didn’t like sharing him with one night stands necessarily, but I knew those wouldn’t last so I dealt with it. He was _so_ serious about you. And I wanted you too. So much, Chris.”

“But you want to know if we really think this can work, don’t you doll baby?” Bucky cut to the chase.

Chris’s face warmed and she nodded. “I’m just. I’m scared? I feel like I was just… ripped out of my life by the roots, you know? I’m not saying I don’t have an incredibly nice job here that Tony’s given me because I’m not going to lie, I like my new job. It’s not a pity job.”

Bucky winked at her.

“But guys, I suck at relationships,” Chris tried to explain, it wasn’t helping that their emotions were surrounding her just as they were. _Love. Admiration. Desire. Want._ “If I can’t have a solid relationship with one man, how…”

“How many failed relationships are we talking about, doll?” Bucky’s tone was teasing.

Chris rolled her eyes, felt her face heat up more. “Technically, two. One was a friends-with-benefits kind of thing.”

“Yeah, well, that’s not going to work here, sweetheart,” Bucky told her, pressing up to kiss her mouth lightly. “I can’t just be your friend. I’m crazy about you.”

Steve pressed a kiss to her shoulder. “I’m in love with you both, so that won’t work for me either.”

Chris stared at him, wide-eyed, extending herself to feel him out. He _did_ love her.

“You love me?” Chris whispered breathlessly.

“So do I, doll,” Bucky gently directed her gaze back to himself and his feelings were just as strong. “Give us a chance. I think we could be so happy, the three of us.”

Tears stung the backs of her eyes, but she let Bucky pull her down for a kiss, tasting her mouth in a leisurely manner while Steve’s hand roamed over her freely.

“What would you like to do, sweetheart?” Steve whispered in her ear. “Anything at all. It doesn’t even have to be sex.”

Chris laughed against Bucky’s lips. “I think it’s going to have to be sex, Steve. Bucky got me all worked up before you got back and you can’t believe what I’ve been sitting on this entire time.”

“Is that right?” Steve asked in something like his Captain's voice. Leaning back, she allowed Steve’s to roam over Bucky’s cock, feeling his hips buck up into his lover’s touch.

“Wow, you’re right,” Steve admitted. “What do you think we should do about that, Chris?”

“Why do you both keep asking me what I want?” She looked from one to the other.

“Because we want you to be happy,” Steve told her, moving his large hand to push down into her panties. “He did get you worked up, didn’t he?”

Chris was soaked, humming in delight as his large fingers skimmed her folds gently.

“What do you want, baby?” Bucky’s hand skimmed up under Steve’s shirt, gently taking her breasts in hands, keeping his touch light.

“Anything?” Chris wanted to confirm.

The two men smiled at each other before turning their attention back to her. “Yeah, anything you want,” Steve told her.

“Can we all make love… at the same time?” Chris asked shyly.

Steve’s expression shifted, concern bleeding out onto his other emotions.

“How did you want us, doll?” Bucky asked patiently.

She knew what she wanted but she just knew Steve wouldn’t agree to it – yet. But she thought of an alternative that was almost as good.

“Can you be in the middle?” she asked Bucky.

Bucky’s smile was beautiful. “I have you, Stevie has me?”

Chris didn’t want to know what shade of red she was turning. She was just about ready to suggest something less… everything… when Bucky, wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close to him.

“I love it,” he whispered in his ear. “How lucky can a man be, I wonder?”

Steve’s hesitation was gone. His excitement grew by leaps and bounds as he rose from the bed, shedding his clothes while Chris watched eagerly.

Bucky rolled her onto her back, looming above her and taking her breath away with his beauty. He straddled her, sitting back on his heels and grabbing the hem of Steve’s shirt to pull it over her head. Moving back and taking the covers with him, he grabbed her panties and gently pulled them down her legs while Steve climbed up on the bed with them, leaning down to claim her mouth with heat and desire.

While Steve kissed her breathless, one of his hands sliding down to tease at her breast, she felt Bucky shifting around her legs, pulling her thighs up onto his shoulders, the metal cold behind her right leg. Chris gasped into Steve’s mouth as she felt Bucky’s mouth pressing a chain of heated kisses up the inside of one thigh.

“Bucky,” she cried out when his mouth closed over her mound. He hummed, and she felt it throughout her lower body, trying to squeeze her legs closed and being completely unable to.

Steve pulled back to tease her ear, her neck, and shoulder with his tongue.

“What’s he doing to you, doll?” Steve grinned down at her, his eyes so blue. “Is he getting you ready for us?”

“Yes.” She pulled Steve’s mouth back up to hers. Steve moaned into her mouth, his hand skimming all over her torso from one breast to the other as their tongues danced together.

Bucky’s mouth was wickedly buried in her folds, his tongue drawing patterns across her clit and skimming down to tease her entrance and back up again, over and over until she thought she’d lose her mind. When her hips began to pump up trying to reach Bucky’s face, Steve eased back to watch for a moment, before placing a big hand on her abdomen to keep her still.

“Steve,” it sounded like she was begging him for something, but she couldn’t have said exactly what. Now she could see Bucky eating her out like a man possessed and Steve pulled a deep moan from her when he leaned down to take one of her nipples into her mouth. His lips and tongue teased her so gently. Between both their efforts, she was writhing beneath them, one hand carded into Steve’s hair while the other was clutching at the sheets. Bucky grabbed that hand and moved it into his hair.

They worked together, pushing her closer and closer to the edge while they held her there. Bucky had pressed his fingers back into her, moving closer to her g-spot while his mouth devastated her. Just when she thought she’d scream in frustration, Bucky worked that spot, bringing her release crashing over her while the kept at her. The world spun away while she struggled to breathe, and they didn’t stop taking her apart.

When everything came back into focus, they were kissing each other, slowly and with a lot of tongue. Steve moaned into Bucky’s mouth, his hand around his brunet lover’s cock, working him firmly.

“She tastes so good,” Steve whispered against Bucky’s mouth.

“She’s back,” Bucky told him, winking at her.

“Time to get you ready, old man,” Steve said slapping Bucky’s ass before hopping off the bed.

While he was digging through the drawer at his bedside table, Bucky crawled up over her, kissing her breathless as he had Steve and letting her taste herself in his mouth. His flesh hand slid between her legs as he drugged her with kisses all over her face, her neck, her breasts. She didn’t immediately notice Steve was behind Bucky, positioning him as he wanted.

“Oh, baby, right there,” Bucky’s eyes slid closed at something Steve was doing. Bucky’s cock was rock hard, Chris reached down to wrap her hand around him, work him gently.

Bucky’s grin was wicked. “Teaming up on me?”

“That’s the idea,” Chris told him, smiling.

Bucky hummed as Chris stroked him and Steve worked to stretch him open.

“Come on, pal,” Bucky growled after a few moments. “I’m getting antsy here.”

“You’re being so good for us,” Steve told him, winking at Chris. “You’re going to feel so good in just a couple more minutes. Now, don’t keep our girl waiting.”

Bucky looked triumphant as he reached up, grabbing two of the pillows and stuffing them beneath her hips to lift her up. When he was satisfied with that, he hooked his arms around her knees, pulling her down to him and then lining himself up with her entrance.

“You feel amazing, doll baby,” Bucky told her as he slowly began to sink into her.

“Go slow, Buck,” Steve whispered. “She’s small.”

Bucky nodded as her channel slowly gave way to let him in. She wasn’t sure she’d ever get used to just how full she felt with either of them inside her. She was well and truly ruined for any average man now. Once Bucky bottomed out, he held still for just a moment, looking blissed out.

“Are we good?” Steve asked him.

“Fuck, yeah,” Bucky whispered before his gaze locked with hers. “You ready, doll?”

Chris was excited, nodded.

Steve began to work himself inside of Bucky, the bliss he felt at doing so written on his face, reaching her in waves of strong, pure emotion. Watching them joining again almost made her feel on the outside looking in, like an outsider.

Almost as if he heard her thought, Bucky lowered himself onto his elbows and began to kiss her, lusty kisses that had her temperature rising as she waited for them to move. Chris was so ready, clamping herself around him as if to remind him of the fact.

“Mmmm, do that again, doll,” he said against her lips, moaning loudly when she did.

Chris knew when Steve reached the end of Bucky. His movements halted, and he looked so blissed out and happy, his eyes closed as he held tight to Bucky’s hips.

“Are we going to do this?” Bucky asked in a breathy manner. “She’s killing me here. So tight.”

When Steve did thrust, oh, she felt it. He caused Bucky to move firmly inside her.

_Oh, this was going to be fun._

Slowly Steve began an easy rhythm, pushing into Bucky and pushing Bucky into her. The force of every few thrusts punched the air from her lungs as she held onto their dark-haired lover in the middle.

Bucky appeared to be on sensory overload, buried inside her but with Steve buried in him. The sounds he made, the whimpers and moans, made her heart soar. The emotion pouring out of him wrapped around her until she almost felt as if she were feeding on it. _Bliss. Happiness. Love. Lust. Want._

_Hope._

When Steve reached around Bucky to lightly tease her clit with his fingertips, she tensed, her body spiraling quickly towards release. It was almost too much, and her hands scrambled to stop him only to have her wrists collared by Bucky who pinned them down by her sides.

“Let it happen, Chris,” Steve whispered, his gaze burning into her. “Let is go. I want you to come for us. Come all around his cock, baby.”

Hearing _that_ from Steve’s mouth threw Chris over the edge, screaming as her body clenched around Bucky over and over. She could feel him tensing over her, his thrusts coming hard.

“Don’t you dare come yet,” Steve’s voice sounded harsh. “You hear me?”

Bucky whimpered, nodded. He was fighting to hold on.

Steve increased the speed and power of his thrusts, watching her carefully for any signs that it was uncomfortable. Honestly, the renewed stimulation just served to push her back up there near the edge of ecstasy and Chris was powerless to stop it, just hanging on as Bucky was.

“Do you like this, Chris?” Steve’s voice was rough. “Does this feel good?”

“Yes,” Chris cried out as he sped up even more.

“I need you to come on him one more time.” It sounded almost like an order. “Can you do that for me, doll?”

“I –”

Chris was trying to say she’d try when Steve thrust hard into Bucky, pushing him right against her spot and Chris screamed, coming again. Her orgasm had Bucky whimpering this time.

“Steve, please… I need….”

“Come, Buck,” Stever ordered and Bucky tensed above her, his grip on her wrists just shy of pain as he thrust into her with everything he had, jerking and crying out as he unloaded inside her.

Steve shoved Bucky over, landing with an oomph at her side as Steve crawled up her body. His cock was huge and painfully hard. Steve pulled off the condom he’d been wearing, tossing it off the side of the bed as he lined himself up with her entrance.

Having one right after the other, Chris could definitely say that Steve was slightly bigger, his thrusts were powerful as he moved inside her. Steve surrounded her, his warmth, his smell, held up on his elbows as he worked himself into her until all she could do was just hold on.

Chris couldn’t have said how she was on the verge of coming yet again. All she knew was that Steve was tensing, he was so close. When Bucky struck his ass with a loud smack, Steve jumped a little in surprise but allowed Bucky to push him back until was upright, Chris’s legs hooked over his arms as fucked her with purpose.

Bucky looked tired but the mischief in his eyes let her know he wasn't done yet. First, he placed his flesh hand right over her sternum, holding her down. Then he dove for the place where their bodies met with his mouth, his tongue curling around her clit as Steve continued to fill her over and over.

Chris screamed when the last orgasm hit her like a freight train. Steve yelled out too, his final thrusts almost painful as he emptied inside her and Bucky worked them both with his lips and tongue until both of them were lost to their release.

Chris had to have blacked out. It all went black after that. In the distance, she heard the wet sound of kissing, she thought. Then she felt a warm press between her thighs, whimpering at the sting of tender flesh there.

“Sorry, sweetheart,” Steve whispered, pressing a kiss to her forehead while another warm body pulled her against him. "Just cleaning you up."

“I think we broke her, Stevie,” Bucky sounded amused.

“Maybe.”

More warmth as Steve settled in on the other side of her, so warm. Chris curled towards that warmth and Bucky hummed happily as he vined around her from the back.

“Chris?” Steve sounded a little worried. “Sweetheart?”

“Hmmmm,” was all she could manage.

“Are you okay?”

Chris thought she nodded. Snuggling into the warmth, she heard the television being turned on.

“I’ll make us some brunch in a few minutes,” Bucky’s voice sounded sated, happy.

“Take your time,” Steve whispered. “Rest.”

Bucky’s breath evened out into the cadence of sleep. Above them, Steve’s emotions were falling like happy rain.

“I love you both so much,” he whispered, thinking neither of them was awake to hear.

It was the last thing Chris heard before she was contentedly lost to sleep too.


	13. Chapter 13

Chris stretched when her alarm went off Monday morning, reaching for her phone to silence it. Scanning her phone before she got up, she wasn’t surprised to see texts from both Steve and Bucky.

SR: Good morning, beautiful. Hope you slept okay. I can’t wait to see you.

BB: I don’t sleep as well without both of you. Can’t we talk about this? ☹

Both were sent just after midnight. But there were more…

BB: Are you awake? I know you and Steve think we need to maintain appearances, at least for a while. But why do we care? I miss you. Get your ass back over here.

That was just after 3 AM.

BB: Are you running with us? At least I’ll get to see you in a couple of hours. Still. Not. Happy. ☹

The last text was just after 4 AM and Chris smiled.

Steve thought it would be prudent for them not to go out of their way to let the others know of their unique relationship and Chris agreed with him since a steady relationship with _one_ guy had been a challenger for her so far. Bucky wasn’t so easily swayed, having enjoyed getting to spend the weekend with the two of them. While they were discussing keeping things under the table, he was plotting how to ask Tony to remodel their rooms for the three of them.

Chris sighed, jumping into the shower, and getting ready for her run. She rode down in the elevator with Sam and followed him down to the trail.

“Hey, how was your weekend?” Sam’s smile was amazing at such an indecent hour on a Monday morning.

Chris nodded, stretching. “I’m okay.” She was _sore_ in certain places, but he didn’t need to know that. “How are you?”

“Good, good. You want to go running with me?” Sam asked.

“Sure,” she told him. “As long as you don’t mind that I’m not exactly a morning person.”

Sam shook his head. “Another one, huh? Hopefully, you’re not as bad as Bucky. He’s a grumpy asshole this morning.”

Chris snorted at that before she caught herself.

“He is,” Sam laughed as they started out.

They’d maybe made it a quarter of a mile when the fog rolled in and Chris was disappointed because the view was pretty spectacular the last time she’d run. At least they had the path to follow. The fog was dense.

The sound of heavy footfalls came up behind them along what a voice that was most definitely Steve’s.

“On your left,” Steve said as he and Bucky raced past them.

“Come on, man!” Sam yelled back.

Bucky had stopped, waiting for Sam and Chris to catch up.

“Hey, doll,” Bucky said giving her a heart-melting grin.

“Oh, uh-uh,” Sam waved him off as Bucky fell in with their slower pace. “You go on and catch up with him. Chris already agreed to go runnin’ with _me_.”

“Is that so?” Bucky moved behind Sam to the other side of Chris.

“That’s so,” Chris said to him with a wink.

Bucky shook his head, looking like he hadn’t had a moment’s sleep. Still, his beautiful blue eyes were lit with happiness as he kept pace with her.

“Fine,” he conceded. “Will you work out with _me_ later?”

Chris acted like she was thinking about it.

“Okay, yes,” she said with faux resignation.

Happy now, Bucky winked at her before speeding up, she assumed to catch up with Steve.

“On your left!”

Sam yelled in fright as Steve sped by at an incredible speed, leaving Chris laughing behind him.

“Asshole!” Sam yelled. “You can work out with _him_. But Steve? I wouldn’t do it.”

Chris grinned. “Why?”

“Oh, he’ll kill your ass,” Sam explained. “Especially his upper body workout. The first time I did it, couldn’t move my damn arms for three days.”

Chris laughed. “I’ll take that under advisement.”

After their run, Sam went in search of coffee which Chris detested so she decided to find something to eat before working out. She’d grabbed a small container of eggs and bacon, putting it away with alarming speed for her. She washed everything down with juice and decided to head for the gym in search of her fellas.

“Hey, Chris,” Tony called to her looking as if he were just getting started and she waved.

“Hey,” Nat caught up to her, dressed for a workout. “How are you?”

Chris was a little uneasy about Nat knowing their situation, but she decided she’d give getting to know the renowned spy a try.

“It’s Monday,” Chris said. “I’m here. How are you?”

“Long weekend?” Nat asked with a slightly raised brow.

Chris stopped in the hallway. “Can you not do… that? I know you know but….”

The eyebrow raised into a full question mark. “I’m not trying to make you uncomfortable,” Nat explained. “Does it bother you that I know?”

“Kind of,” Chris admitted. “It bothers me more that you think I’d hurt them.”

Nat’s smile was kind. “I like your honesty. I’m a very blunt person at times, I’m going to apologize for that in advance. If you promise me you won’t hurt either of them, then think of me as someone you can talk to about _things_. A friend.”

Chris nodded, starting heading for the gym again. “Well, I’ve got to ask something then.”

Nat’s smile widened. Of course the gorgeous spy already knew what she was going to ask.

“Have you been in my situation before?” Chris asked since no one else was around.

“I have,” Nat told her. “But for a long-term mission. Not in real life.”

Chris didn’t try to read people. Hadn’t for a long time. But in the time she’d spent with her boys, yeah, she was getting reacquainted with it. She wasn’t trying to read Nat, but she was getting strong emotions from her thoughts.

_Regret. Pain._

“You fell in love,” Chris said out loud.

Nat stopped, her gaze searching Chris’ face. “You’re learning to be an empath again?”

Chris shrugged. “Something like that. Was I right?”

Nat nodded. “I messed up. Any time my emotions get involved? Yeah.”

“I’m sorry.” Chris meant it. “There’s been… no one? I mean, I remember a time in the tabloids that…”

“Me and Steve?” Nat laughed. “I remember. That was bullshit.”

Reading the emotions coming off the spy told Chris she was telling the truth. Chris didn’t like the sense of relief that thought produced. It was a bit early for jealousy, wasn’t it?

“There’s been… someones,” Nat said carefully. “It just can’t work.”

“Are you sure about that?”

Nat chuckled. “Pretty sure. Why?”

“I’m terrible at relationships,” Chris told her. “Some people don’t take no for an answer very well. Things _can_ change. Just sayin’.”

Nat grinned at her and there was some… secret behind that smile. There _was_ someone. Someone she loved. But it didn’t work out? Why? Oh, Chris _would_ be paying attention. Especially when she could sense Nat was waiting on someone. _Hoping_ to see them.

“Want to start training?” Nat offered.

“Sure, ‘til Bucky gets here,” Chris mentioned.

And just like that, Nat came at her. Chris dodged, scrambled, tried to hit back. She got in one blow before Nat grabbed her by the arm, twisted and flipped her wildly to the mat.

“You’re not bad,” Nat told her with something that sounded like surprise as she helped her up.

Chris was already sore from a weekend of sex with two super soldiers. Even if she hadn’t been, there wasn’t a lot she’d be able to do with the infamous Black Widow. Chris steadied herself, determined she’d try harder this time.

Nat came at her again, Chris dodged one blow, swung out to try and kick one of the spy’s legs out from under her. The redhead blocked her easily, grabbing her by her hair and hauled her up.

She felt the distraction rather than saw it. Whoever Nat was looking for came in, Chris felt her emotions shift. With a sharp elbow, Chris caught her open ribs hard and Nat let her go with a cry.

“Good job, doll,” Bucky praised her.

“Ow,” Nat rubbed her ribs, shaking her head.

Chris felt her stomach drop when she realized that Bucky had entered the room. Nat loved _him_?

No, her attention was elsewhere. Just outside the door, she saw the shirtsleeve of someone standing there talking to Tony. It wasn’t Tony…

“You teach her that move, Barnes?” Nat asked.

“Nah, today will be my first time working out with her,” Bucky explained.

That was when the person outside the door stepped up to peek inside.

_Bruce Banner._

Chris couldn’t help the stupid grin she knew was on her face. Nat shook her head at her.

“You think you’ve got it figured out now?” Nat asked her.

“I _know_ I do,” Chris assured her.

Bucky looked curious but not too concerned.

He and Natasha worked on training with her for the next hour. Bucky gave her pointers and so did Nat. By the end of that hour, Chris was tired and having her ass handed to her repeatedly.

“That’s enough,” Steve’s voice cut Nat off from approaching Chris for another circuit. “Chris, you okay?”

She didn’t like the smug little grin he was trying to hide.

“I’m fine,” she told him even though she was pretty sure they would get to see her limp out of the gym.

“Why don’t you hit the showers and go get started with Tony?” Steve said in his Captain's voice.

Chris nodded, turning back to wink at Bucky before doing just that.

Within an hour, she was showered, dressed in business casual as she normally did for the bureau and reporting for duty.

Tony let her get acquainted with her new office for a few moments while he met with Nick Fury. It gave her time to check her phone.

BB: Your ass looked amazing in those shorts.

Chris: I’m sure you got a good look at it. Nat handed it to me several times.

BB: Doll baby, you’ll get better.

Chris: Hope so.

BB: Can you sleep over tonight?

Chris: Just started my job. Not doing this now.

BB: PLEASE? :(

“This work for you?” Tony asked as he breezed in.

“It’s much nicer than the one I had,” Chris admitted.

“Told you,” Tony looked delighted. “Now, let’s go over a few things.”

A glance at her phone showed her it was only 8:45 AM. It was going to be a _long_ day.

 

___

 

By the time evening rolled around, Chris was working in a lab, getting acquainted with everything Tony had asked her to. She was looking over the specs of Tony’s Bleeding Edge armor.

“Pretty impressive, huh?”

Chris found Dr. Bruce Banner standing behind her, glancing at the virtual screen.

“It is,” Chris told him. “The thrusters on that thing you could probably use in space.”

“Oh, he made sure,” Bruce explained. “You remember the battle of New York?”

Chris nodded. Who didn’t?

“He had to get the nuke out of the city,” Bruce explained.

“He flew it out into space and used it to destroy the mother craft,” Chris finished. “It was amazing.”

“Yeah, well, what wasn’t so amazing was that the suit died before he could re-enter the atmosphere and he was unconscious when we got him to the ground.”

Chris hadn’t known that.

“He’s been working on those thrusters ever since.”

“Wow. I can understand why then,” Chris told him. “You must have been terrified.”

Bruce nodded. “That’s putting it mildly.”

Chris felt Nat before she saw her, walking by the door to the office. The spy didn’t see either of them as she walked by, but Bruce stopped get a look at her.

“You okay?” Chris asked.

Bruce turned around, glanced at Chris. “Yeah,” he said too quickly.

“Nat handed me my ass this morning,” Chris said mildly as she continued looking at the suit specs.

“Pardon?”

“Nat handed me my ass training this morning,” Chris explained.

Bruce chuckled. “She’s a hell of a fighter.”

“She’s a better woman than me,” Chris said easily. “Beautiful too.”

Bruce hummed behind her, wandering off as if his mind were elsewhere.

The screen in front of her glitched, vanished.

“Shit,” Chris muttered, unable to try to restore it with her hands. Going to the laptop on her desk, she tried to restore it that way, watching a screen of scrambled signals and code flying up the screen.

Chris shook her head.

“You’ll have to do better than that, Stark,” Chris said as she easily cracked his system, easily stopping the dummy protocol he was using to test her. Once she had the mess cleared, she sent a nice big message to light up his screen.

For a first day at a new job, not half bad.

 

___

 

Steve sat on the other side of Tony’s desk, watching all of the code and numbers on the screen he’d opened come to an abrupt halt. Tony grinned, watching as the words ‘nice try Stark’ materialized in front of her and then dropped like broken mirror pieces.

“Was that hard?” Steve pointed to the screen, knowing little about it aside from the fact that Chris had dealt with his test.

“Kinda,” Tony told him. “Just a little test. Not only did she realize that, she killed it so easily. The next test will be harder.”

Closing the screen with his hands, Tony turned back to Steve. “Chris will be of great use to me.”

“We’ll train with her,” Steve told him.

“That’s not as important.”

“It is,” Steve argued. “If we’re training her, she might not realize just how stuck she is here.”

Tony’s expression said “maybe.”

“What did Fury have to report?” Steve asked.

“Nick’s helping us keep an eye on certain groups that _could_ come looking for her,” Tony explained. “At the moment, there aren’t any looming threats to worry about.”

Steve nodded. “That’s good news.”

“We’ll keep an eye on things,” Tony told him. “That mission at the end of the week looks likely to happen.”

Steve had assumed it would. “You’re going to have a good reason for her to stay here, right?”

“I will,” Tony told him. “The first few missions should be okay. But in time, she’s going to start to wonder.”

“I know,” Steve said. “Hopefully we’ll have some time to come up with something plausible.”

“Aside from the fact that she’s not an official Avenger?”

Steve nodded. “I don’t care how, I just want her kept safe.”

“We will,” Tony assured him, studying Steve hard. “I have to admit, you look… chipper these days. For a man your age.”

Steve smirked. “Chipper?”

“Isn’t that a term you used? Dapper?”

“Yeah, yeah, I get it, Tony,” Steve’s cheeks flushed slightly but his smile remained.

“Things going okay?”

Steve nodded, not wanting to go any further with that conversation.

His relationship with Chris, with Bucky, was private.

Steve left the office knowing Bucky was cleaning in the armory and Chris was in her new office working for Tony. Left to his own devices, Steve left Tony’s office and headed for the grocery on the compound. He made it back to his apartment with his bags, he hated waiting for them to stock his kitchen, so he insisted on carrying his own items, and got started on dinner for his lovers. It had been some time since he’d cooked but it came back to him easily enough.

When he had everything in the oven or ready, he sent a text to the two of them.

SR: Dinner at my place tonight. 7 okay?

BB: I’m in.

Chris: I’m starving. Tony didn’t give me a lunch break.

SR: I’ll take it up with him. You in?

Chris: Of course!

Steve was pulling the lasagna out of the oven as they walked in together. The bread had turned out, he pulled the salad from the fridge. Steve was happy with everything.

“Mmmmm,” Chris waited until he’d placed the enormous lasagna down on the table before slipping her arms around his waist and hugging him tightly. “I _love_ Italian. This is awesome!”

“Oh honey, you baked,” Bucky teased him. But the dish was one of Bucky’s favorite, so Steve just let it go for now.

When they all sat enjoying dinner, Steve felt happy. Chris was telling them all about her first day working for Tony. So many terms he and Bucky weren’t familiar with but they smiled, nodded, happy that it had gone so well for her.

Then she started talking about Nat and Bruce.

“That was a while ago,” Steve said gently. “Bruce came back from Asgard and things just haven’t been the same.”

“Haven’t been the same my ass,” Chris said, her face flushed from two glasses of wine. “She was waiting to see him in the gym. It was the reason I got the elbow in. You remember, Bucky? That’s when you arrived.”

Bucky considered that.

“Then later he walked in while I was looking at the specs for Tony’s latest suits and he saw _her_ walk by,” Chris continued. “I could feel it…”

“As an empath, you mean?” Steve asked carefully.

“Maybe,” Chris told him trying to look put out by the question but unable to hit that note. “It’s your fault, both of you, _that’s_ back so much.”

Steve was curious. “How is that?”

“All I do is feel now,” Chris explained. “I used to get lonely. I’d go into the kitchen, get a cookie. I’d watch some sappy romance movie. I was over it. Now I feel _so_ many things.”

“Good things?” Bucky’s smile was warm.

Steve’s heart clenched in his chest to see him so relaxed, so carefree.

Chris’ face flushed. “Mostly.”

“Only mostly?” Bucky teased.

Chris blew out an exhale. “I’m tipsy. I should probably get back and get a good night’s sleep so I can get my ass kicked again tomorrow.”

“Or we can sleep here,” Bucky grinned at her. “What do you think?”

“I’m so not up for sex tonight,” Chris admitted her pink face darkening.

“We don’t have to have sex,” Bucky said gently. “Just sleep. That’s all. I’ll set the alarm for 5 minutes before you normally get up, so you can head over to your place to get ready.”

Chris looked _so_ tempted.

“We could get in the hot tub for a little while and _then_ go to sleep,” Bucky sweetened the deal.

Chris finished her third glass of wine and nodded. “I’m trusting you not to take advantage of me here,” she told them both. “Wine doesn’t work on you.”

“We won’t let you down,” Steve told her.

Chris rose and stretched, heading for Steve’s hot tub. Steve rose from the table, grabbing his plate.

“What are you doing, pal?” Bucky asked him, heading for the sink.

“I’m going to clean up quickly and ---”

“I got it, Stevie,” Bucky told him with a grin. “Go jump in the tub with our girl. I’ll be back there in a few.”

Because he could, he walked up to Bucky, stealing a kiss from Bucky that had his heart hammering in his chest.

“She didn’t say we couldn’t have sex,” Steve pointed out.

Bucky winked at him, getting to work at the sink. “She’ll fall right to sleep once she hits the bed. Sounds like a plan.”

Steve began unbuttoning his shirt as he headed down the hall. Chris already had the water running.

Steve smiled as he reached the huge bathroom. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been so happy.


	14. Chapter 14

Steve's phone blared to life on the bedside table and he immediately threw his legs over the side of the bed to get going. He deactivated the alarm fast, reading the text from Fury.

They were heading to Belize to deal with a HYDRA outpost that had been wreaking havoc on the Caribbean.

"Fuck." Bucky grumbled on the other side of Chris who had been sleeping so heavily as of late. He climbed out of bed on the other side, tucking his pillow behind her back. She looked so small in the center of Steve's bed, wearing one of Bucky's shirts with her hair a wild riot of blonde strands across her pillow.

They managed to get dressed and get showered without waking her up. Bucky still ducked back into Steve's bedroom to brush a kiss to her cheek. Steve, at the last minute, decided to do the same while Bucky smirked at him.

"We going to let her know what's going on?" Bucky asked him.

Steve nodded. "I'll text her."

Bucky didn't like the idea of her waking up alone in a mostly empty compound, so he sent her a text too on the transport to the jet while Steve reviewed the files on the outpost with Tony.

BB: Doll baby, we're off on a mission. I'm sorry you woke up alone. I promise we will make it up to you when we get back. I miss you already.

Not even an hour before they'd reached their target site, Steve felt guilty he'd forgotten to text. He pulled out his phone, even though he wasn't supposed to ever send unencrypted messages en route to missions and sent her a text too.

SR: Hey, Beautiful. Buck's probably already mentioned we're off on a mission. We'll be back soon, and I'll take care of him. Feel free to sleep there while we're gone. I like the idea of you sleeping in my bed. XO

He hit send and tucked his phone away, he thought, without anyone noticing. Nat saw from the corner of her eye, shaking her head in amusement. Tony noticed it too in the reflection of the screen in front of him.

***

Chris woke up and stretched easily. That was the first clue that something was different. At first, she was afraid she'd overslept, and the boys decided to be chivalrous and get her the day off. No, her internal clock wasn't wrong. She woke up right before her phone was set to go off.

Blinking at her phone, she saw the two text messages. Bucky's had been sent just after 2 AM and Steve's delivered just ten minutes ago.

A mission. Well, she'd known to expect that.

She didn't send a text message because the last thing she wanted was to compromise them. She stretched and showered, using the body wash Steve kept in his shower so she'd at least smell like them while they were gone. She threw on Steve's robe and headed for her own apartment to get ready for the day.

The mission had to have been significant because there were surprisingly few people left in the compound. Her office was quiet as a tomb when she entered and sat down, studying the schematics for programs Tony had written to see if she could find any vulnerabilities. She'd been through the first three and it was nearly lunchtime when she heard activity in the main control room area near Tony's office. Deciding it was a good time to break for lunch, Chris wandered out to see what was going on.

What she saw on the screen was horrifying and she just stopped and stared. Phil Coulson stood watching the screen as intently as she, noting her arrival before returning his attention to the screen.

The team faced a huge band of HYDRA agents and other mercenaries from the looks of it.

"How long has  _this_  been going on?" Chris asked.

"Nearly two hours," Phil said without taking his attention away from the screen. The ironclad control he had over his emotions rivaled Bucky's.

Peter Parker was limping and slowing down. Nat was also injured, holding her side as she fought.

"When will the reinforcements reach them?"

Chris turned to see director Fury also staring intently at the screen. His emotions were open and raw. The fight wasn't going well, and Fury was concerned.

"They are already there," Phil told them.

Iron Man flew past the screen, his suit looking as if it had seen better days. And then she saw Steve.

Chris' heart dropped. Steve's heavily muscled arm had been cut. He was bleeding and she couldn't even spot Bucky. Panic started to seep in. Chris quickly became scared, her breathing starting to feel labored.

Aside from the horde of HYDRA operatives they faced, small robotic units like miniature tanks were all over the place sending bolts of blue energy surging at the Avengers, dropping land mines. Clint caught one of the blue energy pulses, screaming as it hit his right arm.

"Danforth," Fury said calmly.

"Yes?" Chris turned to face the intimidating director.

"Those robotic units," he pointed out. "Can anything be done remotely with those?"

And just like that Chris' mindset to work. Darting forward to one of the consoles, Chris broke out of the network, finding a channel and sending out a search, trying to find the source of their control in Belize. It took several minutes, some of the longest minutes of her life as she listened to the battle on the screen above her.

When Bucky yelled "Steve!" her fingers froze on the keys.

"He's alive, Danforth," Fury said urgently. "Keep going."

Swallowing down her fear, she worked until she got lucky, finding an enormous signal within a mile of where the battle was taking place. The really amazing thing was that their encryption wasn't even a solid challenge for her. It took a few more moments before Chris was able to crack into one and then it didn't take long before she grabbed control of it.

"I'm in," she whispered.

Chris scanned the screen frantically until she spotted the unit she was controlling. Once she did, and it was right behind Clint and Nat, Chris sped it around them, laughing as Nat watching it with her jaw dropped, and used it to fire at the HYDRA agents. Surprised, they started screaming, trying to aim for it as she fired continually.

"There's got to be a way I can fire more rapidly," Chris muttered to herself.

By the time she'd figured out how to accelerate the firepower, one of the larger HYDRA soldiers took out her unit with one of the blue energy weapons. No matter. Chris commandeered another unit, sped it up and went with Peter Parker to take out more of the agents.

"Hey, thanks, little guy," Peter said to it as if it were a pet. Chris grinned, staying with the young man and covering him as he webbed up agents and kept them from harming the team. Clint was really hurting, and Steve's arm still bled. She hadn't even seen Bucky. She just hoped he was still alive.

"Danforth," Tony's voice filtered through the control room along with all the sounds of battle. "Any way you can run more than one of those at a time?"

Chris looked at Phil Coulson. "Ever been a gamer, agent?"

"I'd be willing to try," Phil told her.

Phil came to the monitor before her and she showed him how to navigate, how to fire. Chris went to another monitor and started over, commandeering another unit and watching in delight as she and Coulson helped out the team. Pulling in a few more eager agents, Chris soon had half a dozen units backing up the team.

The battle was tipping. Even though they had many injuries and from the looks of it they'd lost several non-enhanced agents, the momentum was shifting and the ability to help had Chris feeling more alive than she ever had. All of her anxiety was gone.

"Danforth," Tony called. "Take a closer look. Those things have real firepower."

"Really?" Chris replied. Pulling up a schematic, she laughed as she saw what Tony was referencing. The unit she was currently controlling followed Steve and Bucky and when she was ready she darted between them, knocking Bucky off balance and she cranked up her new weapon.

"Watch this," she told them.

The unit's feature was like a super-enhanced flamethrower and Chris focused hard as she aimed it at agent after agent. Yes, the men's suits likely offered some protection to them, but the fear of fire would slow them down, make them easier targets.

"Danforth, this way!" Steve called and even though his gaze couldn't meet hers, she was thrilled he knew it was her. She directed the unit to follow him. He stopped on the screen pointing at an old tower several hundred feet away.

"Take it out," he ordered. "I think that's where they might be controlling them."

That tone, the one he often used for her, had her heart hammering in her chest.

"On it, Cap."

Chris pointed the unit in that direction and aimed for the tower. As she directed it closer, she saw specifically what Steve was talking about. A signal was being emitted and that was how she was going to disable the entire lot of them. It took several shots, but finally, she hit it head on and the entire tower exploded into flame.

"Yes!" she yelled. All the units stopped functioning and the number of HYDRA agents left didn't seem capable of dealing with one pissed off Avenger team. Chris watched smiling as the remainder of HYDRA's agents were dealt with easily and quickly.

Finally, she spotted Bucky, and to her worry, he'd been shot in the leg, but he was still up and moving as if it didn't hurt.

"Danforth," Tony said over the comlink. "Excellent work."

"Thank you," she replied.

"Agreed," Steve added. "Let's get the injured back to the jet, sweep for the data, and get out of here."

And with that, the comlink went dead.

A hand dropped onto her shoulder. "Good work, Danforth," Fury told her then moving on to speak with Coulson.

Chris blew out an exhale in belief, joining in on the discussion with the other agents who'd helped her run the units. You'd have thought they were talking about a multi-player game with the level of excitement that filled the room.

Chris didn't care. She was happy. Her boys were safe, she'd been able to help them.

It was a good day.

***

Steve was still making notes for the debriefing when the team began to file out of the jet. Bucky watched as Peter ran up to Chris and excitedly started talking about their battle today and, no doubt, her part in it. The kid stood there gesturing wildly and laughing as he told her his version of what happened and her pretty face colored as she laughed along with him. When he limped away, the kid had taken a beating, her gray eyes followed him, looking concerned.

Clint was taken out on a stretcher. Chris looked distraught over that until Nat stopped to talk to her, no doubt trying to put her nerves at ease. Nat hugged their girl carefully, she'd taken a beating too, and made her way into medical.

Chris talked to Wanda and Vision, Bruce, and finally, Tony who held her attention as he and Steve walked off the jet.

Steve cut him a look.

Yes, Bucky knew what they'd agreed to, but he didn't like it. He wanted to run up and throw their girl over his shoulder, carry her off to Steve's bed and make her scream in pleasure until she was fast asleep.

_Oh, no. They were going to be "low key."_

Tony saw them approaching as he was talking, winking at Bucky –  _he did know, that little shit_  – before walking up to kiss Pepper and lead her up into the compound.

Chris smiled up at them as they approached, and Bucky drank her in. In truth, they'd maybe been gone all of 24 hours. It felt like they'd been away from her for days.

"How are you?" Her gaze moved over the crude bandage wrapped around Steve's arm, at Bucky's thigh where he'd been shot. "Are you okay?"

"We're okay, doll baby," Bucky assured her, hating this "low key" shit. He walked up to gently hug her, as he might Nat, taking in the scent of her, needing it.

"That was some pretty good work out there, agent," Steve said smiling. "How were you doing that?"

"It's a long story," Chris warned them. "But according to Tony you're going to medical, it's required, so we have a little time?"

Steve laughed. "Yeah, we do. Come on."

Chris stayed with them through medical evaluation, neither allowing her to go in to see Helen and her crew. Bucky didn't want her worried about the injuries they had when they'd likely be gone by morning. When Steve and Tony were called in for debriefing, Steve looked at Bucky casually.

"No need for you to wait on me, Buck. I'll see you in the morning."

Bucky nodded, trying not to smirk. It was 3 AM after all and it was considerate of Steve not to make them stay and wait.

"Night, Steve," Bucky told him, standing. With Peter roaming around still, talking about the day, Bucky looked at Chris. "I'll walk you up."

"That'd be nice," Chris told him. "Thanks."

He could have been walking along with Nat as they made it to the elevator, made their way to the top floor.

Sam had made his way up hours ago and Bucky growled when she paused at her own door. There was no one in the hallway to hear right now.

"Don't even try to brush me off, right now," Bucky's voice was rough.

Chris' brow knit in confusion. "You were shot in the leg," she reminded him. "You need to rest."

"Rest  _with_  me," he implored her, giving her the look that so far usually made her give in. "You know I'll sleep like shit if you're not there."

Chris blew out an exhale. "Okay."

Bucky smiled, nodded toward her door. "Need anything while we're here?"

She shook her beautiful head.

They reached Steve's door and let themselves in quickly. As soon as the door was closed, Bucky shoved her back against it, punching the air from her lungs. Chris moaned into his mouth as he pressed her against the door.

Bucky was a storm of kisses and hands as his lips seared a path down her neck and his hands yanked her blouse free of her slack before ripping them open and shoving them to the floor. Kneeling he pulled off her shoes, pulled the slacks free.

That's when the scent of her reached him, thick and sweet. Bucky pressed his face against her covered mound before ripping her panties off with his metal hand. He surprised her by rising, throwing her over one shoulder and hauling her off to Steve's bed.

Bucky stopped himself after dropping her there, watching her panting under him with wide eyes. He had to remember that she wasn't as strong as they were. The last thing he ever wanted was for Chris to be afraid of him.

Taking a deep calming breath, he ran his flesh hand through his hair. "I'm sorry, Chris," he said gently. "I got carried away and I can't with you."

Sitting up, she slid the blouse off her upper body, looking a little less worried though she kept her eyes on him.

"I'm okay," Chris told him. "You just… surprised me."

Bucky kept his movements slow as he stepped back from the bed, stripping off his suit. Her gaze became heated as she watched.

"Can I interest you in a shower, doll?" he asked, grinning.

Chris nodded, removing her bra. He watched her slender figure saunter into the bathroom, get the shower going. Like him, she couldn't get showers hot enough and he waited until she'd stepped under the spray before he climbed in behind her, gently wrapping his arms around her from behind.

"Did I… did I scare you, baby?" he whispered by her ear.

"No, Bucky," Chris turned in his arms, wrapping her arms around his neck and stretching up to kiss him. An enticing kiss that had his heart speeding up. "I'm not afraid of you. You're always so careful with me."

"Your leg," she gasped, seeing the bullet hole there, the remains of the blood the nurse hadn't cleaned up. The wound looked a couple of weeks old now and would likely be gone by morning. "Bucky, we –"

"I'm okay, doll," he kissed the tip of her nose. "Enhanced healing, remember?"

Not to be put off, she darted out of the shower for a washcloth, coming back to thoroughly clean him up until all the blood, dirt, and grime for the battle was gone. It took all his self-control to let her wash his hair and his body and keep his hands off her because he knew it was important to her. He realized she needed to make sure he was okay.

She dried them off, wrapping herself in Bucky's robe and heading for the kitchen while he headed for bed. She came back with a tall glass of ice water, setting it on his bedside table.

"Thank you, Chris," he whispered, stretched out on the bed and naked. He loved the way her gaze raked over him as she dropped the robe to the floor to reveal her own beautiful form.

Gently, Chris climbed onto the bed, on top of him, straddling him with her lower lips weeping all over his cock that had been painfully erect since he'd laid eyes on her. For her, he could be patient. He gently placed his hands on her hips as she leaned forward to kiss him, sweetly at first. When the kiss became more demanding, her hands clutching in his hair, roaming his body, he willed himself to be still for her, to let her have her way with  _him_  for once.

When she moved down his body, her hands working his cock, he was ready to explode.

"Doll baby," he gasped before she could put her mouth on him. "I can't… Please, I need you."

He would have appreciated the smug little smirk she flashed him if he hadn't been in such a bad way. Lifting up, she lined him up with her entrance and slowly slid herself down until he could go no further. All that tight, wet heat had him losing his mind, but he let her set the pace, enjoying watching the way she moved on top of him.

"God, yes," he growled, sliding his hands up to cover her breasts as she began to ride him with increasing speed. His little beauty felt so good wrapped around him, her tight little body driving him wild as he felt his release nearing.

Bucky  _almost_  made it. As he felt his release about to slam into him, he grabbed her hips tightly and began thrusting up powerfully, hoping he wasn't hurting her as he chased the release that took the world away from him for long moments and left him with only the need for more oxygen. The sweet smell of her hair and the feel of her soft body on top of him were all he was aware of for the longest time there in the cool darkness of Steve's bedroom.

"Bucky?"

"Hmmm?" he managed.

"Are you okay?"

His eyes slit open to see her gazing down at him, looking like a golden-haired angel with her hair a wild halo about her head.

"I couldn't be happier," he whispered. "Are you okay?"

Nodding, she rolled to his side, her place in the middle when Steve finally made it up and tucked herself under her chin.

"You did a good job out there today, doll baby," he told her and meant it. "I don't know how you and Stark manipulate all of that technology, but I think I'm going to like having you on the team."

He felt her smile against his chest. "I was  _so_  happy to be able to help."

"Sleep, sweetheart. Steve's probably going to brag about you for a couple more hours yet. You can have him in the morning if you want."

Chris hummed happily at that and it was the last thing he remembered before he was lost to sleep.


	15. Chapter 15

Steve realized two things when he woke up the next morning. First, he’d overslept. It was well past eight in the morning and he didn’t think he’d moved once. Second, he was tangled up in the two other people in his bed and well, that wasn’t a bad thing at all. Steve didn’t often indulge himself in sleeping in but at the moment, he wondered why that was.

Bucky was awake and grinning at him. Stretching up to kiss Steve’s mouth, Bucky then reached over the table on his side and grabbed his phone.

“When did you get in? We must have fallen asleep,” Bucky scrolled through his phone, much more comfortable with modern technology than he was.

“Late,” Steve told him in a rough voice. “You two were out cold when I finally made it up here. How’s the leg?”

Bucky pulled the covers away from his knee to reveal yet another scar but otherwise, a healed wound.

“Good,” Steve whispered, pressing a kiss to the top of Chris’s head. She was sprawled out across him, her head on his shoulder, slender limbs thrown over him. She looked completely comfortable.

“Oh, wow,” Bucky drew his attention away from their girl. “Nat needs to go meet someone from the old days and she’s asked me to go with her.”

Steve didn’t approve, and Bucky knew that. “Why?”

Bucky shrugged a shoulder. “Something she’s trying to score for Wanda. I’ll be with her to keep her safe.”

“ _Something_ better be worth putting your lives at risk,” Steve warned.

Bucky sighed. “I’m going because if I don’t, she’ll go alone. You know that.”

Steve did. He still didn’t like it, but he knew Bucky was right.

“When?”

“Leaving here in a few minutes,” Bucky said with a wink as he climbed out of bed.

Steve stared up at him, realizing that left him with Chris. Alone.

“You said you wanted to convince her to give you a chance,” Bucky reminded him. “Here’s your chance. You’ll have our girl all to yourself. You can be charming when you want to, Stevie.”

Bucky laughed when Steve flipped him off.

Chris still hadn’t stirred when Bucky came out of the bathroom from his shower, pulling his robe out of the floor and hanging it up before he got dressed.

“I’ll be back later today.” Bucky pressed a kiss to Chris’s cheek, one to Steve’s lips. “Be good to her.”

Steve nodded, watched Bucky leave.

Just him and Chris. Okay. Steve hadn’t been prepared for that.

Now he was too nervous to just stay in bed, so he threw on his robe, curiously it smelled like Chris, and situated her in bed with his pillow at her back. Then he headed for the kitchen to make breakfast.

Steve had just finished pancakes with scrambled eggs and sausage links when she quietly walked into the kitchen, smiling at the table he’d set with a tablecloth and nice linen placemats and napkins. Her pretty face colored slightly as she took in that there were just two places set.

“Where’s Bucky?” Chris asked, nervously pulling at the edge of Steve’s t-shirt that she’d slipped on.

“Out on an errand with Natasha,” Steve admitted. “Something for Wanda.”

Chris nodded, swiping at her eyes as she moved closer, looking unsure of what to do.

“I thought maybe since it was just us you would like to have breakfast with me?” Steve flashed her with what he hoped was a charming smile.

“Oh wow.” Her blush deepened, making him wonder just how far it extended. “Thank you, Steve. This is wonderful.”

He motioned for her to sit and she did, pulling the napkin from her setting and placing it on her lap. Steve poured them each a glass of orange juice and joined her at the table, feeling pretty proud of the way she dug right in to her breakfast.

“You’re a really good cook,” she said after a moment. “First the lasagna and now this. Do you bake too?”

It was Steve’s turn to blush now, grinning as he said, “a little.”

“What else can you make?” Chris wanted to know.

“I can make a lot of things,” Steve wasn’t bragging. “When we were younger, Bucky was the breadwinner, I made what I could, but I was usually the one home to do the cooking. You try really hard not to mess up when you don’t have anything else to make if you burn dinner.”

“Ah,” Chris said in response.

“Do you cook?” Steve asked her.

Chris shook her head. “Not really. I can open cans and microwave. That’s about it.”

“Who did the cooking when you were younger?” Steve realized he knew next to nothing about Chris’s back story.

“My Aunt Jenny,” she admitted after a minute. “She felt so bad about never really being home with me that she did everything. The cooking, the cleaning. Laundry. It was a rude awakening when I started UVA because I had absolutely no survival skills when I started out.”

Steve didn’t like the sad note her voice took on as she explained that.

“What happened to your parents?” he had to ask.

Chris’s gaze met his and he started to tell her that it was okay if she didn’t feel comfortable telling him but then she answered him.

“They were killed in a car accident when I was a baby,” Chris explained. “Jenny’s an ER nurse  and she was at the hospital when they arrived. Dad was dead on arrival and Mom, she made it a few days.”

“I’m so sorry, sweetheart,” he said gently. “Which was her sibling?”

“My Mom.”

“Your aunt stayed single?”

Chris nodded. “There’s a reason I’m bad at relationships. I had a very good role model.” She laughed, thoughtful eating a forkful of pancakes. “Jenny has terrible taste in men. She’s never had a relationship that I’ve known of that lasted longer than a few months.”

“Wait, so if she was your role model,” Steve pointed out, “and _she_ has terrible taste in men, what are you trying to say?”

Chris laughed, turning red. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean _that_. Any woman would be very lucky to have either one of you.”

“Yeah?” Steve held her gaze, loving having the advantage of her discomfort for the moment. “What about both of us?”

Chris shrugged. “It’s different… but in a good way. You’re both alike in some ways and very different in others.”

“How are we alike?”

Her expression sobered at that. “You’ve both been through so much, Steve. I remember when we had to read about you guys in history class and just what you experienced in the war was unbelievable to me. I don’t know much about your lives before you became Captain America, but I’m guessing it wasn’t an easy time of it. The museum mentioned you were ill most of your life up to that point. Then you lost Bucky and… “

Steve didn’t know what to say to that.

“I know you’ve both experienced a lot, but I have to admire you. Despite it all, you’re here still trying to make our world a better place. Trying to live a somewhat normal life. You’re broken, you have nightmares, but you don’t let it defeat you. There are days I want to bitch about things or complain but when I think of you two, I realize I have no reason to. You inspire me, I guess.”

Now knowing how she saw things helped him. At least she didn’t feel sorry for them. Considering her own upbringing, it sounded like she could relate.

“You’re different too,” Chris went on. “Bucky is tenacious, and charming. He never forgets a damn thing when I screw up but he’s the first to defend me if I need him. He’s too hard on himself about his past, doesn’t think he deserves a damn thing in life, but he does enjoy what he has. I love that smile he gets when he’s really happy. I mean _really_ happy like after sex or ice cream. His eyes sparkle and he does that little thing with his nose.”

Steve burst out laughing, thinking he was the only one who noticed that Bucky scrunched his nose like a content bunny sometimes.

“You know I’m right,” Chris told him.

“You really are,” Steve told her, laughing. “What about me?”

Chris just studied him for a moment, propping her chin on her hand.

“Steve, you just really are that American hero we all believe you to be,” Chris told him. “You always do the right thing, think of others before yourself. You always put me on Bucky’s right because you’re so worried my hair will get caught in his arm again.”

He laughed. She had him there.

“When I had that panic attack after meeting with Tony, you just marched down there to my apartment,” Chris told him. “You look after me – and him – even if we don’t want you to. But yeah, we usually want you to. I do, anyway.”

Steve’s heart fluttered in his chest.

“You came to me with just the craziest proposal ever after I’d hooked up with Bucky and now that I know you better, I’m a little shocked because you don’t seem like the sort of guy who does threesomes,” she explained. “Once someone realizes how big your heart is though, well, then it kind of makes sense. You’d really need two people when it comes to a heart like yours.”

Tears stung the backs of his eyes at her words.

“Gorgeous as you are, though, I gave this a chance because I knew we couldn’t make Bucky choose between us,” Chris admitted. “I wanted you to be back together. God, the way you look at him with your heart in your eyes. Always wanted someone to look at me like _that_. Before this I thought that if I held him off long enough, I’d give you time to get in and he’d forget me. But you wouldn’t let me off the hook. And now? Well, it sucks keeping it all a secret but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy it.”

Steve reached across the table to take her hand in his. “We want you to be happy with us, Chris. It’s not just me and Bucky. Not anymore.”

The smile faded from her eyes and lips. “I’m scared though.”

“Sweetheart, why?” Steve gently pulled her up and around the table to sit in his lap. It felt so good to hold her there. “What are you scared of?”

“Are you two even going to age?” she asked, trying to sound like she was joking but not quite hitting that note.

“We are,” he told her honestly. “The serum enhanced us both, but it didn’t grant us immortality or eternal youth. It might be slowed down, but we’ll get there.”

“What if something happens to you? Either of you?”

“That could happen with anyone you love,” Steve reminded her. “We all face that risk.”

“You two face _way_ more danger than the average person, Steve.”

“We’re also _way_ more equipped to deal with it.”

“What happens when one or both of you get tired of me?”

He hated how small her voice sounded when she asked that question.

“Don’t.”

“Why? It’s possible, Steve.”

“We’re not like anyone you’ve dated before,” Steve said, pressing a soft kiss to the side of her neck. “We’re actually pretty set in our ways. We don’t like change.”

“I’m not like you,” Chris pointed out. “I’m a loner who gets depressed and insecure. There’s going to be times I won’t want to talk to you and you might forgive me, but will _he_?”

“He will,” Steve said quietly. “He has his moments too. We all do.”

Turning on his lap, Chris pressed her palms to his chest, sliding them inside his robe to touch his skin.

“There are going to be times when it’s just me and you,” Chris told him.

Steve nodded, wrapping his arms gently around her.

“I think this is going to be okay,” she said. “There’s bound to be stuff we have in common or can do.”

“We can cook, you could teach me how to use a computer or a phone because I struggle,” he replied. “We can train or watch a movie.”

Nodding, she slid her hands up around his neck, stretching up to kiss him slowly.

“So many places we can go,” she said thinking out loud.

Just the flash of something crossed his beautiful eyes but it was gone just as fast.

“Is it _selfish_ of me to have both of you?” she blushed as she asked. “Seems any number of women would cheerfully kill me for being with either one of you, much less both.”

Steve shook his head. “Is it wrong of us to be together and both get to have you too?”

“Well, if you save the world regularly, maybe you deserve a bonus?” Chris laughed, shrugged.

“Maybe,” he told her. “You’re quite a bit more than a bonus though.”

Winking at him, she said, “we’ll see.”

They made out like teenagers for a few moments before clearing the dishes. Chris stretched before heading into the bathroom, searching through his cabinets.

“What are you looking for?” he called.

“You don’t happen to have any bath oils or bombs?” she asked.

Steve grinned. “A bath? That sound pretty good. Hang on.”

She watched him pull on a shirt and shorts and head out of the apartment. He was back in ten minutes with a bottle of lavender-scented bubble bath and she made a happy sound as he poured a generous amount into the water she’d gotten just right.

Stripping off, he placed a hand in the large tub and frowned. Chris liked her showers scalding like Bucky. The water was warm but not too bad. Climbing in the tub, he got comfortable, watching as she pulled off his shirt and climbed in with him, her back to his front and they talked about everything until the water cooled.

It was then as they climbed out to dry off that she thought to ask. “Where you’d get the bubbles?”

Steve grinned. “Nat.”

“She’s going to get you back for that,” Chris warned him playfully.

“Maybe.” Steve was determined to dry her off with one of his huge, fluffy towels. Once he was done, Chris made her way back into the bedroom, looking indecisive.

“What?” he wanted to know.

“Just trying to decide if I should go back to mine to get dressed and get a few things done or…”

“You could bring some stuff to keep here,” he was barely keeping the hope out of his tone. “I have several drawers I’m not using so there’s plenty of room.”

“Wow,” Chris teased him with a blinding smile. “I already get a drawer?”

Steve was a little confused and she seemed to realize it.

“Nowadays, someone giving you a drawer in their place is a huge relationship milestone,” Chris explained.

“It is, huh?” He sat on the edge of the bed with a towel wrapped around his waist. “What else?”

“What do you mean what else?”

“What other milestones do you do nowadays?”

“Why?”

_I’m hoping in time you’ll see me as more than what you got in a package deal with Bucky._

“Because offering a drawer isn’t enough for one day?” Her smile hadn’t faded.

“Can’t blame a guy for trying.”

Chris swallowed hard, sitting next to him on the bed and adorably naked. “Well, there’s giving someone a key but here we don’t use those, so…”

“I could still give you access to come and go as you like,” Steve said nodded. “Bucky has access.”

“There’s having someone move in with you,” Chris went on, glancing up at him. “I think those are the only ones we’ve added, and you know the rest, getting engaged, married and such.”

Gently he picked her, situating her on his lap.  She smelled so good from the bath and he couldn’t resist running his lips over the soft, moist skin along her throat and shoulder. He made a circuit, down and up, several times until he just kept going up to claim her lips. When she slid her arms around his neck and began to return that kiss with everything she had, Steve lowered them back onto the bed. His heart raced in his chest. Maybe it was just that Chris accepted him to avoid making Bucky choose between them. Maybe, just maybe, she wanted Steve too.

When she indicated she wanted to turn, Steve let her maneuver him onto his back with her above him. Chris dazzled him with kisses, working her way down his body until she situated herself between his thighs and began to work him with her mouth and hands.

“Chris?” Steve panted. “Sweetheart? You don’t have –”

She cut him off by taking him into her throat and Steve clutched at the sheets, trying not to lose his mind. Her small hands worked his sack, what she couldn’t get into her mouth. Constantly changing tactics, Chris kept him on edge for long minutes while he clutched at her hair and fought to keep himself from snatching her up, pressing her into the bed, and fucking her like there was no tomorrow.

When he finally couldn’t hang on any longer, Steve let go with a shout, still amazed at how good Chris was at _that_. Steve drifted off into a nap shortly after and woke up to find that Chris had covered them up, her head was back on his chest and she was sprawled across him, just as they were when they woke up.

Now it was dark outside, his stomach was growling, and someone had just walked into the living room.

Bucky looked surprised when he strolled back into the bedroom. Tilting his head in surprise, he just stared.

“You never left the bed?” Bucky said with a teasing tone.

“We _did_ ,” Steve sounded unconvincing to his own ears. “We just ended up back here.”

“Okay,” Bucky didn’t sound like he believed them. “You’ve fed our girl, right?”

Steve tightened his arm around her while she slept. “We had breakfast.”

“Want me to order Chinese for dinner?” Bucky offered, hanging up his jacket.

Chris hummed contentedly on Steve’s chest. Bucky climbed up on the bed to spoon up behind her.

“Chris, how are you feeling?” he whispered in her ear.

Steve watched her shiver.

“I’ve had a really good day,” she told him, snuggling closer to Steve.

“Did Stevie treat you right?”

“Mmmm-hmmm,” Chris murmured.

“How did it go?” Steve asked quietly.

“Everything was fine,” Bucky told him. “Except I missed my best guy and my best girl.”

Bucky got up, stretched. “I’ll go order dinner. You two could at least get on your pajamas,” he said then winked.  “If not, I’ll enjoy the view.”

Chris lifted her sleepy head off his chest to smile up at him and Steve’s heart just melted.

_This might work out after all._


	16. Chapter 16

Chris dashed out of the elevator and headed to the front desk at the compound, ready for a big day out. The team was on a mission in Siberia and was going to be there for another week yet. Chris had decided it was high time for her to escape the compound and enjoy a day of shopping and checking in with the world.

It had been weeks since she’d last been out of the compound and since her director had turned her over to the Avengers for safekeeping. Not that she was complaining. The compound was an awesome place, the people were great, and she wanted for nothing.

Still, even an extreme introvert like herself needed to get out once in a while.

The young lady at the desk smiled in greeting. “Can I help you?”

“Yes,” Chris told her with a smile. “I need a car or a cab. I was going to head into the city to do some shopping and such.”

The young woman’s badge said “Jeri” and she nodded. “Scan your thumb there.”

Chris scanned her thumbprint using the scanner. She didn’t like the flat, error sound that came from the screen in front of Jeri as a result.

“Agent Danforth?” Jeri asked.

“Yes,” Chris was curious. Why did her smile fade?

“I’m sorry,” Jeri told her. “My instructions here say that you need to talk to Agent Coulson.”

_Why the fuck did she need to talk to Agent Coulson?_

“I just need a car,” Chris told her. “Does it say  _why_  I have to talk to him?”

Jeri shook her head, her expression sympathetic. “Not for someone on my level. I’m sorry. I’ll get him for you.”

As Jeri went to pick up her phone, Chris’s mind scrambled. Did they expect her to take someone with her? Was she limited to where she could go? Chris honestly hadn’t thought that going to a few stores and out for pizza would be a problem.

“He’s on his way down,” Jeri told her before helping the next person.

Phil was as impossible to read as ever as he approached her where she sat on the benches. She thought she picked up on a little apprehension, but it was a quick flash and then gone.

“Danforth,” Coulson greeted her with the same tight little grin he always wore.

“Hi, Coulson,” she greeted, rising. “Hey, I just needed a car or a cab to take me into the city so I could do some shopping. Is that okay?”

“What did you need?” He kept his tone diplomatic. “We’d be glad to send someone to get anything you like.”

“I’d like to get out of the compound,” Chris clarified. “I’ve been stuck in here for weeks. I’m going a little nuts. Can you help me out?”

The tight little smile faded.

“I’m afraid I can’t allow that,” he told her.

“Allow what?”

“You to leave the compound.”

_The fuck?_  “Why?”

“You know why,” Coulson told her bluntly. “Your identity as Athena was compromised, you have powerful enemies, many of whom surely know that you are here in this compound. They will be looking for an opportunity for you to leave this compound so they can acquire you.”

Chris just stared at him. “Bullshit! It’s just a couple of hours out.”

“Mr. Stark and Director Fury’s orders,” he explained.

“I can’t go?” Chris wanted to confirm.

“No, you can’t.”

“Not even if I take agents with me for protection?”

“I’m afraid not,” Coulson told her.

Chris furious. She could feel the heat rising in her face, knew he could probably see her turning red by now.

“I’m really sorry,” Coulson did say with a degree of sincerity.

“This is unfucking believable,” Chris hissed quietly.

“Which part?”

“Oh, I don’t know, the part where none of you saw fit to  _tell_  me this.” Chris shook her head. Steve and Bucky had to have known. “All this time, I thought it was okay if I left that I was just choosing not to. Now that I’ve been made aware that I  _can’t_  leave, this place just turned into a fucking prison.”

“It was precisely for that reason you weren’t told,” Coulson explained calmly. “If you never wanted to leave, there would be no reason for you to be upset.”

“I  _am_  human you know,” Chris pointed out. “You  _had_  to know I’d want to get out at some point.”

“Your behavioral patterns indicate that you go long periods of time without substantial human contact,” he went on.

“I’ll give you that,” Chris told him. “But it’s been nearly two months.”

“What can we get for you, Danforth?” Coulson kept his tone reasonable, kind. “We can send for anything you want or need.”

Chris blew out a frustrated exhale. As much as she might want to raise hell with someone over this, Coulson would only serve to exacerbate her frustration. If she created a scene they’d contact her boys and she didn’t want their minds clouded by anything that could jeopardize their safety.

“I understand,” Chris told him finally. “Thank you.”

Coulson looked surprised at her acquiescing, which was satisfying, but he smiled in return. “I’m sorry. Thank you for understanding. If we can get anything for you, please let me know.”

Chris nodded, acted like she was heading for the elevators. Once she was reasonably sure no one was paying any attention to her, she headed down to the lower levels of the compound. First, she stopped at the ATM, because the moment she used a card they’d have her. Then she found the car assignment station. Finding a bench, she had a seat, pulling her Starkpad out and began looking through the network for car assignments.

After delving through assignments, she found one car that was being prepped for someone in accounting. They were leaving in ten minutes. Perfect. The car was assigned to one Lilia Drake. Chris made a couple of small adjustments, managed to override the thumb scanner with little problem, found her car and jumped in.

Within a few short minutes, Chris was on her way. She’d turned off her Starkpad, disabling its tracking, and turned off her phone as well. It took her a few minutes of using the road signs to find the mall, but find it she did. Within the hour, she was enjoying cheap mall pizza and contemplating which shops she was going to start with.

She didn’t spot Coulson until she was in the checkout line with an adorable pair of ballerina flats. Shaking her head, she dug out her cash and politely greeted the saleswoman as Coulson along with three huge suited agents waited for her by the door.

_Well, fuck my life._

_***_

 

Steve was pleased with the progress they’d made as they stopped for the day. The team had set up in a safe house in the outskirts of Siberia and almost ready to execute their plan. He’d gotten in several hours of chopping wood the old-fashioned way today and he was happy. It had him tired enough that he could probably sleep well. He was getting as bad as Bucky, not able to sleep well without Chris there. He and Bucky were keeping separate rooms on the missions too which made it worse.

“Hey, Cap,” Tony greeted, wandering over with his hands shoved in the deep pockets of the cheap parka he wore. “Some news from home.”

“Yeah?” Steve asked, not liking Tony’s expression. “What’s up?”

“Your girl hit the front desk today, wanting to get a car to go do a little shopping,” Tony explained as Bucky walked up behind Steve.

“Well, shit,” Bucky mumbled, knowing as well as he did that it was the moment they’d been dreading. Worse, it hit while they were away. Chris wasn’t going to be happy that she was confined to the premises for the foreseeable future and they weren’t even there to explain why.

“Oh, it gets better,” Tony told them. “She got mildly upset, according to Coulson but seemed to accept it. Then she hijacked a car, took it to the mall anyway.”

“What?” Steve couldn’t believe she’d do that. “Is she okay?”

“Relax, big guy,” Tony told him, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Coulson caught her shoe shopping and they safely escorted her back to the compound. Just wanted to let you know what happened. We’ve upped security around the compound just in case anyone was aware of her little adventure.”

“How long did it take him to figure it out?” Steve wanted to know.

“About an hour,” Tony answered. “She’d turned off all tracking, of course, but with the car gone, Coulson put it together pretty quickly. Glad he was there.”

Steve was  _really_  not happy. “Thanks.”

“Yep,” Tony told him with a sympathetic glance before leaving him and Bucky there at the foot of the stairs.

“Steve?” Bucky asked cautiously. “You okay?”

“No, I’m really not,” he snapped, climbing the stairs by twos on the way up to his room.

Bucky was on his heels, leaning in the doorway as Steve dropped heavily onto his bed and began pulling off his boots.

“Are you really surprised she tried this?” Bucky sounded way calmer than Steve felt.

“No, I’m  _not_  surprised she tried,” Steve told him angrily. “I  _am_  surprised she turned right around and left anyway, knowing what danger she could be in.”

Bucky blew out an exhale. “You’re right. Still, no one told her. That probably pissed her off.”

“Probably.”

“And she  _is_  an FBI agent,” Bucky pointed out. “In her mind, she had it covered.”

“ _Was_  an FBI agent,” Steve replied. “And she didn’t have it covered. Any number of enemy agents could have snatched her off the street and you  _know_  it.”

Bucky’s brows shot up, telling Steve he wasn’t nearly as upset as he was. And while he did appreciate that Bucky was trying to argue her side, it didn’t excuse the fact that she had, very deliberately, placed herself in danger. She could have been snatched away from them.

It also wasn’t lost on Steve that while and he and Bucky were much alike as she pointed out, they were also very different.

In the last several weeks that the three of them had been together, Steve had completely lost his heart to their girl. And he loved very differently from Bucky. In Bucky’s mind, she was theirs. There was no jealousy when she talked to another man or concern when she needed girl time to hang out with Nat and Wanda or to work on her endless stream of computer programs in her job for Tony.

Steve, come to find out, was jealous natured. He didn’t even like it when she play-flirted with Sam and he was pretty sure Sam had figured out what their arrangement truly was. Even Sam referred to her as “their girl.” When Chris needed time to herself or time to hang out with her girlfriends, he wasn’t fine with watching sports and enjoying time for himself. He pouted. In his mind, he’d spent enough time alone and now that he had someone special, he wanted as much time with her as he could get. The darker side of life had shown him more than once how easily and quickly the things he loved could be taken away from him.

And now  _this_? Oh, they’d be talking about this. Chris had never been flat out stupid with her safety before and Steve wasn’t having it. She’d been told she couldn’t leave the compound by Coulson and she damn well should have honored that. He knew she’d be upset, he expected that and had been prepared to deal with it. Even if she’d been waiting to shout at him and Bucky both the minute they returned, he would have been much happier dealing with that than her dumbass decision to steal a car and go out anyway.

“Are you okay, Stevie?” Bucky asked carefully.

“What do you think?” Steve again snapped at him.

“Hey, Pal, I get it.” Bucky put his hands up in front of him defensively. “I get why you’re pissed. Me too. We’ll talk about it when we get back.”

“We’re going to do  _more_  than talk about it,” Steve informed him. “There’s going to be a lesson here. We’re just lucky that Coulson was aware of the situation and that he figured it out as quickly as he did. An hour, Buck. An hour under different circumstances and she could have been on her way to some obscure HYDRA base being tortured or killed or…”

“Gotcha,” Bucky told him. “Okay. When we get back, we’ll deal with it. We’ll make sure she understands that can’t happen again.”

“Oh, she  _will_  understand.”

Bucky’s expression was a mixture of amusement and curiosity, but he knew his oldest friend would go along with him on this.

When they got back, Chris  _would_  understand that she would never willingly place herself in such a stupid position  _ever_  again.

 

***

 

By the week’s end, Chris was getting antsy. She knew Coulson had gotten word to Tony about her little shopping adventure. Tony likely told her boys but she didn’t think they’d be too upset about that. There’d probably be a lecture or, at the very least, an attempt at one. Chris wanted to know from them why she had to find out she wasn’t allowed to leave the compound in such a way. They owed her an explanation. They should have told her.

She’d made friends with another occupant of the compound, one Darcy Lewis. The young woman worked for Dr. Jane Foster and was a lot of fun to hang out with when she wasn’t on the job or Darcy wasn’t doing scientific things. Darcy had explained it wasn’t the first time someone had been restricted to the grounds. Apparently, the same thing had happened to Wanda just before the Avengers had all gone at each other in Germany when Steve had been trying to get Bucky back.

Chris wanted to talk to Wanda about  _that_.

It was just before 3 AM and Chris was about to go to sleep, tucked away in her own apartment when her phone chirped at her.

A text message from Steve. Ah, so they were on their way home.

SR: Hey, beautiful. How are you?

Chris smiled when the next one Bucky came right after. She’d missed them. They’d nearly been gone for a month.

BB: Hey, doll. Can’t wait to see ya. 

Chris: Can't wait to see you both. I've missed you.

BB: We'll be home by lunch tomorrow, baby doll. Any chance you can blow off work and be there waiting for us?

Chris's mind scrambled, trying to think of what was on her schedule for the next day. She had a couple of meetings with Pepper after lunch so getting out early wasn't going to work out.

Chris: I can't tomorrow. Sorry. Wish I could.

SR: Take the next day off.

That stopped Chris cold. Was Steve telling her to take the next day off? That really wasn't like him. Still, they had about a month to make up for so…

Chris: Okay, I'll request Thursday off. Shouldn't be a problem. Anything special you wanted to do? ?

It was several moments before either of them answered which was weird. It went on long enough that Chris began to worry something had happened or their communication had been intercepted.

SR: We'll see you tomorrow, Sweetheart.

Chris read over the single line of text a couple of times. It was out of character for Steve but maybe he was tired or they'd just had a difficult mission.

Deciding she'd find out soon enough what was up with Steve, Chris snuggled into her bedding and went to sleep.


	17. Chapter 17

BB: Where are you, doll baby?

Chris smiled at the text message as she sipped from her Whiskey Sour. Darcy glanced at her from over her own phone.

“Message from the boyfriend?” Darcy asked playfully.

Chris nodded. “Mmm-hmm.”

“We’re friends now, right?” Darcy went on.

Darcy Lewis, Chris has discovered, was quite a character.

“Yeah,” Chris answered.

“Help a girl win a bet,” Darcy bid her. “Which one of them is your boyfriend?”

Chris was grateful she hadn’t taken a drink just then. “Excuse me? A bet?”

Darcy lowered her phone. “Yeah, it’s up to a few hundred dollars now.”

“What exactly _is_ the bet?” Chris wanted to establish.

“Whether you are fucking Rogers or Barnes,” Darcy explained. “Sam tried to make a case for _both_ , but I shut that shit down. I mean, come on, you’d have to be a super soldier yourself to take _that_ on.”

_Not quite._ Chris was laughing on the inside. “Well, thanks,” Chris told her.

“So, since I’ve got your back, which one?” Darcy pressed.

Chris shook her head. “Not even telling you, sorry.”

Darcy’s sigh was exaggerated. “You’ll tell me eventually. You love me.”

Chris: I’m at the bar. Come have a drink with me.

Chris took another drink. “I _do_ love you but I’m not saying anything.”

“I get it,” Darcy said, rising and tucking her phone into the back pocket of her jeans. “You’re a super cool FBI agent. You still need friends. Remember that.”

Chris nodded, laughed. “Oh, I will.”

Darcy hadn’t been gone five minutes when Steve and Bucky walked into the compound’s bar, looking tired, but handsome and freshly showered in jeans. Steve had on one of his super snug t-shirts, Bucky had thrown on a sweatshirt that she liked to wear sometimes. Chris would have been lying if she even tried to deny that just seeing them had her horny as hell after the weeks they’d been gone.

But there was some business to attend to first.

Steve’s gaze met hers and didn’t move. He pulled out a chair at the table on one side of her, and she could feel it rolling off him in waves. Steve never did a lot in trying to control his emotions. It was usually one of the things she enjoyed about him. Not having to guess so much.

But right now, Steve was really pissed off.

Chris was surprised because she would have assumed that Bucky would be the one who was mad. Bucky’s emotions were a mad swirl of a lot of things like concern, anger, lust, love, with more concern on top of that. He sat across from Steve on her other side, sliding his metal hand onto her knee under the table.

_Oh, this is going to be good._

“Any particular reason you wanted us to meet you _here_?” Steve took the direct approached.

Bucky excused himself to get them beers as Chris sized up her other lover.

“Yeah, we need to talk,” Chris told him just as directly.

Steve was fuming but he had it under control. For the most part. His jaw was locked and that was the only physical sign to indicate anything was wrong.

Well, she was pissed off too.

“You left the compound,” Steve got right to it.

“Funny, no one told me that I wasn’t _allowed_ to leave the compound, Steve.” Chris was proud of how calmly she’d gotten that out and then followed it up with a generous drink from her glass. She was going to need it. “Imagine my chagrin when I went to the front desk and had Coulson summoned to tell me that I wasn’t allowed off the grounds.”

“It’s for your own protection,” Steve coldly told her.

“I’m sure it is, but you still should have told me,” Chris countered. “I had a right to know.”

Steve ran a hand through his blond hair, blew out an exhale. “Maybe. Given that you’d told Buck and me that you could go weeks without going out into the world, seemed best not to upset you until we had to. And that day might not have come. There was also a chance that we would be here, and we could have told you when the need arose.”

“When the need arose…” Chris stared him down, his blue-eyed gaze was unflinching.

“Ever hear of a little concept called _trust_ , Steve?” Chris shot back earning her a scowl. “I _did_ ask to leave the compound and had to be told by Coulson that it wasn’t allowed. You _weren’t_ here. I should have heard it from _you_. One of you.”

“She’s right,” Bucky admitted, handing Steve a draft beer before retaking his seat. “I’m sorry you had to find out that way, doll.”

Chris turned her attention to Bucky. “Thank you. I appreciate that. I’m still pissed but I _do_ appreciate you saying that.”

Steve took a drink from his mug and placed it on the table a lot harder than he needed to, turning her attention back to him.

“ _Then_ you commandeered a car and left the compound anyway,” Steve’s voice was low and angry. “Do you have _any_ idea what could have happened?”

“Up until recently, I was an FBI agent, Steve. You tell me. Could I have had any _idea_ of what could have happened?” Chris shot back.

Now Steve was really angry. She didn’t like the way his hand curled around the mug as he stared her down.

“One would think being an FBI agent that you would have realized how stupid it was to leave the grounds without anyone knowing,” Steve’s voice was too calm. “Do you know how easy it would have been for the right people to have stopped you? Taken you?”

There it was. It was buried beneath layers of anger and frustration, but it _was_ there.

_Fear._

What was Steve so afraid of?

“He’s right, doll,” Bucky said calmly. “I know the FBI trained you and you handle yourself well. But some of the sadistic assholes we deal with each mission? We just can’t take that risk. Not with you.”

That took a little of the wind out of her sails. Steve had lived long enough to lose many things he’d loved, many people. Considering that made her feel like a selfish bitch on the one hand. On the other, it still didn’t excuse them not telling her that she couldn’t leave the compound.

Steve’s emotions were still strong but were settling down, just as hers were.

“Is there anything _else_ I don’t know?” Chris hit him with that question since the opportunity was there. “When I found that out, it made me wonder.”

Chris looked from him to Bucky who shook his head, meeting her gaze and willing her to understand he was telling the truth. When she glanced back at Steve, his gaze was on the mug.

“No,” Steve said calmly, meeting her gaze. “There’s nothing else.”

Chris nodded, drained her glass and enjoyed the way the liquor burned its way into her stomach.

“I need something from you,” Steve told her. “I need you to promise me you won’t do anything like _that_ again.”

When she didn’t say anything, he went on.

“You grabbed a car and went _shopping_. Do you have any idea what it would have done to him _and_ me if something had happened to you? We weren’t here, Chris. You want to talk about trust? I need to be able to trust that you’ll stay here and safe when we’re off on missions. If I have to worry about you risking yourself for a pair of shoes…”

Well, when he put it like that… Chris could understand that it would be a distraction from the mission, a distraction that could cost them.

“You’re not going to make that a justification for everything that happens between us, right?” Chris wanted to know. “While I admire and appreciate very much what you both do for all of us and our safety, what I _wish_ I could do also only I’m not allowed, I don’t want to reach a point in this relationship where I have to worry about everything I say or do being a distraction for when you’re on missions.”

“That’s fair,” Bucky muttered.

Steve shot him a glare.

“You never answered my question,” Steve continued. “Why did you want us to meet you here?”

Bucky was staring at her hard now too.

“Honestly, _I_ was afraid that you wanted to meet out in the open… you meant to… break things off,” Bucky said quietly. “Glad that’s not the case.”

Chris felt the heat rising in her face but didn’t answer.

“That’s not the case, right?” Bucky asked a little less confidently.

Chris blew out an exhale. “No. I’m pissed but I not trying to _end_ anything. I was already here having a drink with Darcy.”

One of the corners of Bucky’s mouth tipped up ever so slightly.

“Did you know there’s a bet?” Chris asked.

Steve’s shoulders relaxed as he finished his beer. “The one about which one of us you’re secretly dating?”

“You knew?”

Steve nodded, grinning. “I think I’m winning actually.”

“No, you’re _not_ ,” Bucky told him, full on grinning now at each of them in turn. “Are we all good now? Chris, you agree not to leave the compound anymore and Steve, you do hereby swear that there are no more damned secrets?”

“It’s not as simple as my agreeing not to leave the compound again, Bucky,” Chris meant it. “ _Knowing_ I can’t go anywhere? I’m going to lose my mind.”

Bucky reached for her hand on the table with his metal one. “Doll baby, I’m sorry. I know this isn’t easy for you. I know it doesn’t seem fair. But it won’t be forever. And we can get you anything you want.”

Her fingers tightened around his. The sincerity in his blue eyes had her heart clenching in her chest. Even Steve looked contrite now though he was still put out with her for scaring him.

“Buck’s right,” Steve told her. “It’s not forever. But until we’re reasonably sure it’s safe for you to leave, please don’t put yourself at risk. It’s not just you anymore.”

Steve’s gaze was intense on her, waves of frustration blended with determination and… love.

_Damn him._

“Now are we _done_ here?” Bucky asked grinning.

Steve swiped at his mouth with the back of his hand and nodded.

“No more secrets. Promise.” His gaze turned serious then, locking with hers. “Do _you_ promise not to pull another stunt like that again, Chris?”

That fear was still there, still lingering on the fringes of his emotions. Steve was afraid to lose her.

“You should have told me,” Chris repeated.

“I know,” Steve said quietly.

Bucky finished his beer and was ready to go in seconds, and Chris tried to read him since he’d been mostly quiet the entire time. He smirked at her as they made their way to the elevators to head up to their floor.

They reached the door of her apartment first, all three of them coming to a stop.

Steve’s hands were shoved into the pockets of his jeans as he stood there studying his shoes.

“I’ll, ah, understand if you want to talk more tomorrow,” Steve told her, his tone strained still.

Bucky’s gaze locked with his, realizing things _weren’t_ resolved with Steve.

Chris knew why. She wasn’t going to make a promise she couldn’t keep.

“What?” Steve wanted to know.

“ _Not_ how I was expecting tonight to go,” Bucky said aloud. “Either of you ever hear of make-up sex?”

They both shushed him in hissing whispers while he threw up his hands.

“Seriously?” Bucky asked them both. “You’re trying to give her an out because you both got so pissy mad at each other. We haven’t seen her in a _month_. And we’ve been--”

“Buck!” Steve cut him off.

In a blink, Bucky scooped up Chris and sprinted down to Steve’s door, opening the door and heading for the couch. Chris could see from the glasses and plates where they’d hung out here earlier. The world spun around her as Bucky placed her in one of the stuffed chairs and Steve came in, locking the door behind him.

“ _Now_ , we can talk,” Bucky announced, his face darkened in frustration.

“No, we really don’t have to,” Chris shot back.

Steve sank down onto the couch looking from one to the other before settling on her. “What do you want to talk about? I’d like to think Chris and I have settled our issue. Except I’m waiting on that _promise_.”

“You might be waiting a while,” Chris told him curtly. “I’m not the type to make a promise I can’t keep.”

“You saying you’ll leave the compound again?” Steve’s face began to color as his anger quickly returned.

“I’m saying I don’t _know_ , Steve,” her voice rose in her frustration. “My life has fallen apart here lately. I’ve lost my job temporarily, my home, my freedom. I’d like to tell you that I’ll sit here and knit and be good while _you’re_ both out saving the world but that feels like lying. And I don’t like lying. I’m not a liar and I’m not a girl who’s good at being well-behaved and lady-like. If I were that girl, I sure as _shit_ wouldn’t have become an FBI agent.”

She didn’t turn to look at Bucky, just heard his muttered “Jesus” in the background. No, she was staring Steve down and as she felt his frustration rise, she was becoming less confident in her decision to push him by the second.

“You’re going to promise me that you won’t do anything stupid like that again,” Steve used his captain’s voice on her and it was _way_ too calm compared to the vibes she was getting off him.

“If you want me to lie to you,” Chris taunted him.

“You’re going to promise me that you will stay here and keep yourself safe,” Steve said slowly as if he wasn’t sure she was comprehending his words. “You work for Tony now and these are actually the wishes of him and Director Fury.”

“That you just happen to one hundred percent agree with,” Chris shot back.

“Yes, I do.” His fist clenched and unclenched on his knee while she watched, her first warning. “You’re going to promise me that you’ll abide by those wishes and you’re going to _mean_ it.”

“Ah, Steve,” Bucky sounded concerned and that was her second warning because he knew Steve better than anyone and if he was concerned with how things were going…

Chris knew she was taking a risk.

“Or. You’ll. What?” Chris said slowly, glaring at him.

Steve had been so careful with Chris to that point that it startled her just how quickly he could move. She was sent sprawling across his lap in the blink of an eye, one hand pressed firmly on her back while the other worked furiously at her jeans.

“Steve!” Chris slapped her palms on the thick trunk of his thigh and tried to push up with everything she had while he pretty much ripped her jeans down, her panties with them. It was a futile effort made that much worse by the first stinging slap across her ass cheeks.

Bucky looked torn between trying to help her and wanting to watch and it pushed her anger further. The second slap had her gasping, fighting Steve with all she had. Another slap and she winced at the sting.

“Bucky,” Chris demanded, “do something with him. Do something now!”

“Buck said he would back _me_ up,” Steve informed her followed by another stinging swat, this one where her ass met her thighs.

Bucky stared at her helplessly, she could feel his conflict. She hoped that he read the heat in her face as pure anger -- and it _mostly_ was.

She had to see if she could talk Bucky into letting her up before Steve figured out just how turned on she was getting in being spanked.

“Bucky, do – Ouch! You son-of-a-bitch!” Chris yelled at Steve.

“Language,” Steve growled at her as he continued on, alternating cheeks now.

“Bucky, are… you… seriously going to let him get away with this?” Chris wanted to know.

Agitated, he ran a hand through the silky locks of his dark hair. His face was schooled into a sympathetic expression, but his jeans looked so uncomfortably tight and the bulge at the front was a dead giveaway.

_Traitorous bastard._

“Fine, I hate you _too_!” Chris growled as Steve’s blows started to slow and lessen. She didn’t miss the feel of his erection beneath her as she still tried unsuccessfully to get free.

“Oh, don’t be like that,” Steve taunted her, his hand sliding over her ass now and she hissed in slight pain. He hadn’t used a fraction of the strength he had, she knew he wasn’t trying to hurt her. But he’d done a damned good job nonetheless. She doubted she’d be able to sit for a week.

She didn’t even want to explain _that_ to Tony.

When his fingers slid further down, between her thighs she knew she was busted. Chris had never been spanked before, never even thought about it. But damn it was hot even though it stung like hell and she was furious with both of them now. Chris was ridiculously wet following Steve's rough treatment.

“Seems like she enjoyed that a _lot_ , Buck,” Steve said over her head.

Bucky’s gaze was fixed on Steve’s hand.

“Fuck you!” Chris spat.

“Is that an offer?” Steve asked, teasing.

“No, it’s not.” Chris tried again to push up, but Steve only held her firmly, his fingers dancing gently between her legs in a way he _knew_ she liked. “Let me up. Now. I’m going back to my apartment.”

“Is she wet?” Bucky asked, smirking.

“Fuck you too!” Chris glared at her dark-haired lover.

“Is that a promise?” Bucky smiled at her sweetly.

“Fuck, no, it’s not a promise!” Chris yelled at him. “That’s what got me into this mess.”

“Such a dirty mouth,” Steve’s teasing didn’t let up and no way was she going to let him win _this_ game. Maybe she didn’t have a lot of experience, but she _did_ have an attitude.

“Are we going to put my mouth to better use?” Chris taunted him, winking at Bucky whose mouth fell open at that.

She’d play along. For _now_.

This time when she pushed up, Steve released her. Easing herself to her knees on one side of him, moving gingerly.

The way his blue eyes smoldered at her, she couldn't tell if it was because he was still that angry or that turned on. It was likely a mixture of the two.

“Was that a serious offer?” Steve asked, running a finger through her soaking wet folds.

That drew her attention to her jeans that were pretty much useless shreds around her ankles. She didn’t even know where her panties had gone. Chris pulled off what was left of the jeans before looking Steve in the eye.

“Maybe,” she whispered.

“And my promise?”

Chris moving closer to him. Angry as she was, she wanted nothing more than to throw Steve down and fuck him until he begged _her_ for mercy. Until he forgot all about his stupid-ass promise. Just maybe if she could get him worked up enough, and she could get Bucky on board, just maybe she could give the sexy caveman a taste of his own medicine. A plan spun in her mind.

The kiss was a lusty battle of lips and tongue, Steve moaned into her mouth as he gave as good as he got. A quick glance out of the corner of her eye showed her Bucky sprawled next to them with his metal hand grabbing at his erection.

_Good idea._

When her hands dove for the opening of Steve’s jeans he cried out in surprise as much as arousal. She loved that he was as worked up as she was. It would just make winning the next round so much easier.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter will pick up where this leaves off, promise. ;)


	18. Chapter 18

Bucky watched his blonde lovers warily. He'd been concerned about Steve's anger at Chris since Tony had informed them of her trip out of the compound. He understood it – he  _really_  did. But pissing off their lovely little FBI agent to get across that he was head over ass in love with her, and terrified something would happen to her, probably hadn't been the best idea. He'd tried telling Steve that on the way home…

Where had his romantic little punk gone? This was new for Steve. He knew Steve was crazy about Chris, they both were. Like Steve, he wanted to understand what was in her head when she left the safety of the compound while they were on the other side of the planet. But Bucky hadn't seen this more dominant side of Steve before. And he'd enjoy exploring  _that_  at some future point.

Now here they were in Steve's apartment and instead of indulging in some I'm-so-happy-to-see-you-after-a-month sex, his best friend had just put her right over his knee and had given her a pretty thorough spanking. Bucky was torn between making sure she was okay, because she'd be feeling  _that_ , and asking her if he could kiss it and make it better.

As it was he was all kinds of hard watching the slender beauty, on her knees next to Steve on the couch, her hand down the front of his friend's jeans. Bucky could see the smooth lips of her pussy glistening from where he sprawled next to them and it made his mouth water. He was sorting through a lot of bad ideas on how he could get in on things. Hopefully without her getting pissed at  _him_.

"Go and lie down on your bed," Chris ordered Steve, her voice husky in a way that was new. She'd pulled Steve out now, those long slim fingers curled around his friend's cock, her hand working him in smooth strokes that made his own member rock hard.

As if Bucky wasn't hard enough already.

"Or you could go down to the floor," Steve countered, trying to stare her down.

_Or you could shut the hell up._ Bucky shook his head at Steve, the movement drawing Chris's attention. She shot him a quick glance, before returning her attention to Steve.

Bucky smirked. He had an idea of where everything  _might_  be headed. If there was something in it for  _him_ , hell yes, he'd be her accomplice.

Chris glanced back over her shoulder at her backside in a way that was just too cute, looking back to Steve with a pout. "My ass really stings," Chris told him with a curious mixture of pitiful and sultry. "Do you really want me to sit on the floor now?"

_Smart girl._

Bucky watched some of that anger fade from Steve's face. Once the punk got over being pissed off he was going to be beside himself with guilt over her backside, Bucky called it.

Steve rose from the couch, pulling off his t-shirt as he did and dazzling both of them with that rippling display of muscle. His jeans were open and hung low on his hips, showing off his perfect form.

"You coming?" he shot at Bucky as he made his way to his bedroom as Chris wanted.

_I sure hope so._  Bucky rose from the couch, eying Chris as she started to follow him. She pulled off the top she wore, flung off the lacy, cream-colored bra.

She held her wrists up and together meaningfully as he stared at her.

Bucky smirked, knowing exactly what she wanted, and he was more than happy to help her if meant he got to have sex with one of them soon.

Steve had it coming.

Steve had indeed stretched out in the dead center of his bed, nude now, his gaze roaming over Chris's lush form. Ah, but there was a little bit of guilt now in his gaze since she'd planted that idea. Steve watched her climb up from the foot of the bed and up his body, grabbing his head in her hands and kissing him as if her life depended on it.

Steve's hands slid gently up her hips to her back, prompting her to pull them off her body. He let her. Chris pressed his wrists to the bed on either side of his head as if she could hold him there. All the while she devastated him with kisses that had Bucky a little jealous. Bucky loved how she kissed with her entire being. It was so good right now Steve didn't even seem aware that Bucky was even in the room.

_It was almost too easy._

The cuffs were stronger than the ones Bucky had. They'd been used on Bucky himself when they'd captured him in Romania, the first time they'd encountered the Black Panther. Steve was a sap who kept everything for nostalgia, and Bucky had been pleasantly surprised when he'd discovered that Steve still had them in one of his bedside tables. It turned him on to think that Steve had maybe hoped to use them on him again.

It turned him on even more to realize that they'd been designed to hold him even with his enhanced metal arm. If they'd been designed to contain  _him_ , they should be able to hold Steve.

They had to have felt the bed dip under his weight. Almost immediately Chris ran a hand back down to Steve's swollen cock. It was all the distraction Bucky needed.

Steve actually tensed, considered fighting him, just before Bucky fastened the second side around his left wrist. Then Steve glared at him.

"Changing sides?" Steve wanted to know, eying Bucky as he pulled off his sweatshirt.

Bucky smirked at him, shaking his head. "You've had your say and you delivered your lesson. I didn't interfere. I'd say it's  _her_  turn now."

"And what about what  _you_  planned to say to her?" Steve taunted him, jerking the bed as he tested out the bonds.

Bucky nodded, pulling off his jeans. He had gone commando and Steve's gaze going directly to his cock had him grinning.

"You're right," Bucky told him, climbing back on the bed to where Chris straddled Steve's hips.

His little beauty folded her arms across her chest, staring him down. Bucky wasn't worried. Chris seemed better at reading emotions by the day, even his darker ones. She  _had_  to know how excited he was in that moment.

"Chris, I have to admit I was worried when I'd heard you left the compound," Bucky said carefully, trying not to smile. "Can you not do that again?"

Chris nodded, her face still a complete mask of calm. "I'll take that under advisement."

Bucky loved to play though it wasn't something he ever threw out there because it was new to Chris and Steve didn't want to make her uncomfortable.  _Normally_. Steve was good about letting him know when it was just the two of them and he wanted Bucky to be rough with him. And Chris? Bucky always assumed if she wanted to play, she'd let him know. Neither he or Steve wanted to push that if she didn't want it.

He grinned as his gaze raked over Steve, his hands secured to his own bed, his face and chest flushed in anger, lust… Kind of felt like Chris was wanting to play just now.

"Now, is it my turn?" Chris asked them.

Bucky nodded, Steve's gaze was fixed on her, but a lot of the ire had faded.

"What the hell, Steve?" she asked, irritation in her tone. "You really think this was the best way to handle our situation?"

"You all but dared me." Steve blew out an exhale. "Look, I lost my temper. I'm sorry."

The impatience in his voice didn't ring that true. Chris exchanged a look with Bucky.

"You don't  _sound_  sorry," Chris pointed out.

Steve smirked at her then. "While these can probably hold me," he shook his wrists, "I somewhat doubt the bed can."

" _I_  can handle you, punk," Bucky told him, enjoying watching lust blending with anger in his face. Steve  _liked_  when Bucky handled him.

"That's good," Chris said. "I doubt I can move as fast as normal right now. If I have to scramble off the bed, it could add to my injury."

That took a lot of the fight out of Steve. "You're never going to let me live this down, are you?"

Oh, he was still angry but just now seeing the consequences ahead of him.

"That depends," Chris said simply, planting her hands on his chest and leaning over him.

"On what?"

"If I get what I want," Chris told him easily.

"What do you want?" Steve's voice took on a huskier tone.

"I want my freedom," Chris whispered.

Steve's gaze met Bucky's and he recognized the concern he read there.

"You have it within this compound," Steve said tightly, turning his attention back to her. "But you can't leave the compound right now. We'll get you anything you want but it's you can't leave. Not right now. That's all I want you to understand. I don't want anything to happen to you."

"And…"

"And?" Steve prompted.

Bucky waited for Steve's anger to return but it didn't. The flush over his face and chest darkened, spreading out over his shoulders even.

Pulling back, Chris pulled up and lined Steve up with her entrance. His cock was so swollen and red that it almost hurt Bucky to look at it. He licked his lips as he watched it slide into Chris's slender body, filling her up in a way that had her smiling.

Chris began riding him as Bucky watched, stretching out beside Steve. The blond man surprised him, stretching his head up to claim his mouth for a kiss. Steve was giving as good as he got, taking Bucky's breath away in his desire. Oh yeah, Steve was all about this now and Bucky had several bad ideas on how to help Chris get what she wanted from him.

Bucky decided not to try and touch Chris, as badly as he wanted to. Not until she told him she wanted that. He wasn't stupid.

They both enjoyed Chris working him over, riding Steve's cock just how she wanted to. Her hands slid all over her body. Her small nipples were diamond hard and one slender hand went gliding down to her clit, stroking it in a rhythm that had her gasping soon, riding Steve harder and faster. Chris was so beautiful when she came and they both watched mesmerized as she found her release, bringing her hips to a stop after long moments, and struggling to catch her breath while she still straddled Steve.

When she climbed off Steve, leaving that huge, swollen cock unfulfilled, he groaned.

"What do you want now, doll?" Bucky asked her.

Chris climbed off the bed, Steve winced to see the apple red of her ass. She turned, gloriously naked at the foot of the bed, defiant as her gaze met his, then Steve's.

"I just took what I wanted," Chris told them, "the same as Steve did."

Steve swallowed hard as he listened while Bucky's heart fluttered in his chest.

"Yeah, going shopping after that was on me. Bad call. I'll give you that," Chris said calmly. "But you should have told me  _yourselves_  that I was restricted to the grounds. Agent Coulson was cool about it but yeah, it was a little embarrassing and that pissed me off.  _That's_  why I grabbed a car and went. I lost my temper too."

Chris's gaze shifted to Bucky and back, but she wasn't done, and he just knew he wasn't going to like what she'd say next.

"My freedom is the latest thing I've lost," Chris reminded them. "And it's the thing I value most. I'm not blaming you for the fact that I lost my place at the bureau and ended up stuck here. I did that myself. But I need you to understand that my life shifted in a huge way and I'm still reeling from the changes. This entire relationship is a big change to navigate. I'm not good at being in a relationship with  _one_  person and there are two of you, and you're enhanced, and I just…"

Bucky gazed at Steve, willing him to say something to fix this. Anything.

"I understand where you're coming from, I do. But this isn't going to work out if you're going to go all Captain America and spank my ass when you think I need a lesson about something. I'm not going to live my life worried about my actions and how they might upset you or put you in danger out in the field. That's not fair to me. I do care about both of you very much, I  _do_ , and I get that you care about me. I don't understand  _why_  exactly… I told you, I'm  _not_  good at relationships. Maybe it's just me but it doesn't seem like this is how it's supposed to go. There's supposed to be respect for each other, I thought. Setting some boundaries. Something…"

She turned and headed out of the bedroom, grabbing Steve's robe from the back of the door as she went. Bucky leaped off the bed after her, leaving Steve where he was because so far nothing he'd said made this any better.

"Doll, let's talk about this," Bucky pleaded with her, following her around the living room as she gathered her clothes. Her jeans were ruined so she slipped on the robe. "I'm sorry. Steve's sorry. He's gonna be  _real_  sorry tomorrow, I promise you. You're right. He shouldn't have done that. I shouldn't have let him. We…"

Chris tied the robe around herself calmly and Bucky swallowed hard.

"We've lost things too," Bucky tried to get her to meet his gaze as he spoke.

Chris stopped at that and sighed. "I know and nothing that happens to me can even compare to that."

When she found her shoes, she headed straight for the door.

"Neither of us want to lose you. That's where this came from, Chris. Please…"

Steve called to her from the bedroom as she slid on her shoes, but Bucky knew she had no intention of going back in there. Her eyes were shiny with tears and her hand shook as she smoothed her hair back behind one ear.

"I need some time to think about this," Chris whispered.

Bucky pushed the door of Steve's apartment closed above her head, pressing his metal arm to keep it there. "Chris, we're both crazy about you. We l—"

"Don't!" Chris cut him off. "Not right now."

"Please," Bucky pleaded with her, gazing deeply into her eyes.

"If you care so much, let me go," Chris told him. "Let me sort this out on my own."

Bucky just went to smooth over her hair with his flesh hand. She deflected him. It was as unexpected as being bitten by a butterfly.

"Let me go."

Bucky's sigh was a sad whisper in the apartment before he stepped away from the door. His heart was shredding in his chest as he watched their girl walk out of their apartment.

Just then Sam walked up behind the hall behind her, taking in first Chris in an oversized robe and shoes as she slammed into her apartment. Sam glanced back to see Bucky nude in Steve's doorway. For once, Steve's bratty sidekick was silent.

Could this have gone any worse?

 

***

 

 

Chris swore off relationships after that and meant it this time.

The first thing she did was enact privacy protocols. Then she contacted Pepper, telling her she'd be working from her apartment for the next couple of days which stretched into two weeks. She'd been grateful that no one had to witness how gingerly she had to sit for the first few days after Steve's little lesson.

She had messages from Steve and Bucky each day, but she only got on her phone long enough to make sure she hadn't heard from Aunt Jenny. She wasn't even reading the rest of her messages from the two super soldiers, Darcy, and Nat. Tony and Pepper sent messages through the network to make sure she got them and no one else tried to get in touch with her physically.

Chris was desperately hoping for a mission soon because she knew she wouldn't be able to leave her apartment without having to deal with Bucky or Steve without one. It was one thing to be restricted to the compound. Being stuck in her apartment was a whole other level of hell but she needed the time.

By the end of the third week, someone did show up. Chris didn't even look up at the sound of the firm knock. After five minutes, she thought whoever it was had gone away.

The door opened and in walked Tony Stark, smiling. Chris was working at the desk in the living room. She blew out an exhale as he headed in her direction.

_This should be interesting._

"Welfare check," Tony said cautiously. "As I understand it, the only people who've exited this apartment in three weeks is hospitality. I'm just here to make sure you're okay."

Chris just nodded.

"Come over here and talk to me, kid," Tony bid her motioning toward her couch. "I  _am_  your boss."

Chris didn't see a way out. He was her boss, so she rose from the desk and followed him. Tony sat on her couch and she took one of the chairs. Tony watched her so closely as she sat down.

"You've lost some weight, Chris." Tony' tone was disapproving. "You're what? Normally 110 soaking wet? You think this is a good idea?"

Chris sat back in the chair and shook her head. "With all respect, you're my boss. I'll talk to you about the job. But my weight doesn't fall into that category."

"It does if you make yourself sick and can't  _do_  the job," Tony argued.

His expression was a full-on concern and as she felt him out, it was the primary emotion too. There was some impatience but mostly concern.

"What can I do for you, Tony?" Chris asked politely.

"Tell me what's going on with you," he said simply. "No one has seen you since the team got back from the last mission. What happened?"

Chris struggled for something to say. Tony, to his credit, was patient. Waited her out.

"I really don't want to talk about it," Chris said finally.

"I'm not the only one worried about you," Tony said gently. "I don't know what happened but…"

"I had a disagreement with someone," Chris admitted. "You probably already know exactly what happened anyway, don't you?"

"Let's see," Tony said, stroking his goatee and feigning a thoughtful look. "You and Steve got into a fight that ended in your strutting up the hall in Steve's bathrobe with Barnes bare-ass naked in Steve's doorway. Sam won the bet by the way. Nat and Darcy aren't speaking to the two senior citizens and neither is Jane Foster."

Chris buried her face in her hands.  _Jesus, it was worse than she thought. Did everyone know everything now?_

"What I really want to know is did one of you _really_  cuff Rogers to his bed?" Tony asked with glee in his voice.

Chris had to laugh at  _that_.

"Was it you?" Tony tried to meet her gaze.

Chris did look up, chuckling. "I'm taking that one to my grave."

"You're no fun," Tony told her, still laughing with her. Finally, he was able to school his features into something like serious. "Seriously, Chris. It's been brought to my attention that a lot of this is my fault and –"

"How is any of this your fault?"

"I told them on that last mission about your adventure to the mall," Tony told her. "And I don't know if it helps or not, but I'm really sorry."

Things were in a state indeed if Tony Stark,  _the_  Tony Stark, was telling her  _he_  was sorry.

"They actually blamed you?" Chris wanted to know.

"The senior citizens? No. Nat did," Tony explained. "She's been even worse to them. It's been a mess."

"Are they okay?" Chris asked, not ready to feel guilty per see. She wanted time, deserved time to think about everything. That didn't mean she wanted them tobe miserable. That wasn't going to make her feel any better.

"They finally made up," Tony told her. "The first week or so they weren't speaking to each other. Then they got into a fight sparring and beat the shit out of each other. I really wish I'd seen that coming like Nat and Sam did. Can you imagine the pay-per-view audience we would have gotten? Captain America vs. The Winter Soldier."

Chris snickered at that. "I can imagine."

"All of us miss you," Tony told her. "Most especially them and –"

"But this is actually great, Tony," she cut him off. "If they are back together, maybe it's best that I stay out of the picture. Let them be happy together."

"What?" Tony stared at her like she was mad.

"Remember the last time you came to talk to me about the two of them being upset? My beliefs really haven't changed since then. I think it would be best if they moved on. Without me."

"I don't think that's what they want, kid," Tony replied. "They are both pretty down right now."

"And this is the part where you tell me I need to fix this because otherwise their heads aren't in the game and that endangers the missions and…"

"No. I could, but I'm not," Tony told her.

"I know you know what was going on, Tony. How was a three-person relationship going to work? It was doomed from the start. I'm not like them. I don't belong with them. It shouldn't take a lot longer for them to figure that out."

"I don't know Barnes as well. But if you think that about Steve, then you didn't get to know him."

"What do you mean?"

"It obvious, kid," Tony explained. "This is the second time you've backed away from them and this time is much worse than the one before. If they were so happy without you, why is that?"

Chris's mind scrambled for an answer.

"Look, if you really believe that they are better off without you and you want out, I'll understand," Tony continued. "I can arrange a transfer to another facility for you. Hopefully, in a few months, you'll be right back at the bureau. How about that?"

Why did the thought of leaving the compound, leaving them behind, feel so wrong to even think about?

"But don't drag this out," Tony bid her. "It's not fair to anyone, including you. I want you happy and  _eating_  again."

Chris nodded. "I'll reach a decision then. Soon."

"That's all I can ask." Tony rose from her couch. "Do you need anything at all? Upgrades? Office stuff? A pound cake?"

Chris laughed. "I'm okay. Thank you. Your generosity has already been simply amazing. I appreciate you."

Tony smiled, showed himself out. Chris followed him to the door and was about to shut it when a large hand gently pressed against it.

Chris's heart began to beat madly in her chest as she looked up into Steve's bright blue eyes.

"Hi, Steve."

His gaze moved over her and back up to her face. "Chris, sweetheart, please can I talk to you?"


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As promised. Thank you for all the wonderful feedback. You guys are the best. ;)

Chris stepped back, motioned him into her apartment and Steve breathed a sigh of relief. If she'd gone to shut the door in his face, he'd have let her.

Steve followed her into her living room, taking a seat on the couch. Chris sat in the chair across from him, smoothing at her hair that was pulled back in a messy bun with loose strands framing her face in a way that he thought was adorable. He'd love to sketch her like this, no makeup, plain clothes. It truly showed just how beautiful she was.

Her slender figure, however, disappeared under the faded old jeans and hoodie she wore. Chris had shed some weight, Tony has also noticed, and she really had nothing to spare.

That was his fault too. Once again, Steve had managed to fuck everything up and he was just hoping he'd convince her to give them another chance.

Chris hadn't answered a single message from anyone in three weeks and he was desperate. Bucky's state was dark and brooding and he wasn't really sleeping, not without her there. Desperation had made him a stalker. Steve had followed Tony up the hallway, lingering outside her apartment once the other man was inside. What Steve heard made his heart feel heavy but confirmed some suspicions he had.

Chris already had it in her head that one day, she'd be out of the picture. She'd decided it was just meant to be him and Bucky and there was no place for her. This was the second time she tried to step back, to step away from them when they wanted her as much as they wanted each other. He hadn't realized that she'd felt this way before their relationship had even begun.

What he needed to know was  _why_  she felt that way. Were her insecurities getting the better of her? Was it too much to be in a relationship with both of them? Had they not given her what she needed?

"Thank you for talking to me," Steve meant it. He sat back on the couch, making sure his body language wasn't threatening in any way. "Sweetheart, I'm so sorry about what happened. I really am. You were right, about every bit of it. Just because I lost my temper didn't give me an excuse to… do that."

"No, it didn't," Chris's gaze met his. She looked  _so_  tired.

Steve blew out an exhale. "The only excuse I have to offer is that when Tony came and told me what happened that day, that you'd found out you were restricted to the compound and that you'd left anyway, I lost it. It had nothing to do with my confidence in you and how you handle yourself, Chris. I was partly angry at myself because yes, I  _should_  have told you. I was the reason Buck didn't tell you. Just so you know that had nothing to do with him."

Chris nodded, her hands twisting in her lap.

"We were on the other side of the world," Steve went on. "If someone had gotten their hands on you, I wouldn't have been able to do anything about it. I know you're wanted for the things you helped the bureau do. But someone could take you to get to me if they found out about us, and they'd hurt you because of me and I can't…"

Her gray eyes were wide on him now. "How could any of them know that we…?"

"Because things like that just have a way of getting out," Steve said slowly.

Chris nodded. "I heard Sam won the bet. So… everyone knows now?"

He didn't like the tinge of fear in her expression. Steve had thought it would bother him, if and when people figured out what was going on between the three of them. Now that the cat was pretty much out of the bag, he found it didn't bother him at all. And Bucky didn't care, he just wanted her back.

"Yeah, I think everyone knows now," Steve said bluntly.

"Are  _you_ …okay with that?"

"I didn't think I would be," Steve told her, holding her gaze. "Turns out people have always thought Buck and I were together behind closed doors."

Chris nodded, smirking. "I thought you were together when I first met you."

Steve shook his head. "That they know we're seeing you? I don't care so long as they don't say something out of line to you. I'll never be ashamed of being with you or Buck if that's what you want to know."

Chris dropped her gaze.

"Does it bother  _you_ that people know?" Steve wanted to know.

She looked back up at him. "Not at all."

That was a relief because he'd worried if word got out, it would be a lot for her considering who they were and on top of everything else.

"There are  _worse_  things, Chris, like  _not_  getting to see you," Steve admitted. "You haven't left this apartment in weeks. You haven't answered anyone and… Sweetheart, please accept my apology. I'm so sorry. I had no right to do that… That was no way to handle the situation."

Her eyes had grown shiny, a lone tear slid down her cheek.

"Did I hurt you?" he asked carefully.

"Not really." She snorted at that, a cute sound. "I had to be careful sitting down that first week."

"Are you okay now?"

Chris nodded.

Steve took a deep breath, wanting to get to the heart of the issue.

"Do you really think that one day Bucky and I will just kick you out?" Steve asked matter-of-factly. "Do you really believe that? Or… is that something that makes it easier for you to… back out of this?"

That got her attention. Her eyes widened.

"I'm…  _afraid_  of that," she admitted.

Planting his elbows on his knees, he leaned forward. "Have we ever given you a reason to feel like that? Not saying we haven't. If we did it was unintentional. But I'd still like to know."

"You love each other, Steve," Chris's voice was shaky. "You've loved each other for so long."

"And you think we don't love you?"

"No, I don't think that. And it doesn't bother me that you love each other. It doesn't." Chris blew out an exhale. "You've just never needed me to make things work."

"So you keep saying," Steve said gently. "No, we don't need you. We  _want_  you there. Both of us, Chris. And yes, we have known each other for a long time, almost a hundred years now even though neither of us was exactly conscious for most of it. But you didn't answer my question. Have either of us ever given you a reason to feel like one day we'll be tired of you?"

Chris dropped her head. "No," she whispered but he heard it.

"It's only been a few weeks with you, Sweetheart, and we're both gone for you," Steve said slowly. "You  _have_  to know that. We were gone a lot of that time and will be in the future. We're just asking if we can have a future with you… Being with you, for both of us, just feels…"

"Right," she finished.

Steve smiled, nodded.

Chris smiled back before her face crumbled and she began crying. In a panic, Steve crossed the space to her, scooping her up easily and placing her in his lap as he took her seat. Chris clung to him tightly, her tears soaking his shirt.

Steve pressed a kiss into her hair, grateful to get to hold her like that after so long.

"I told you I have problems," she muttered against his chest.

Steve chuckled at that. "Then you're in the right place. Buck and I have plenty of problems. You're not alone."

"I worry," she spoke pressed against his chest, "I'm never going to be able to hold on to you two."

"You're not going to be able to get  _rid_  of us," Steve countered gently. "It's not like you've had a lot of luck so far."

Chris chuckled through her tears at that. "No, I really haven't."

"Haven't you ever stopped and considered that maybe we feel the same way? I've never understood the entire celebrity thing myself. Being a soldier, fighting for others in the army when the world was at war, was all I really wanted to do. I guess being famous and all that goes with it is what some people enjoy. There's also a lot of extra responsibility that goes with it. Expectations. I didn't exactly sign up for that part."

"You could have any woman you wanted," Chris pointed out. "Either of you."

"Yeah, that's great except the one we both want hasn't talked to us in weeks," Steve said with no ire. "The thing is, you're not competing with anyone. We're not exactly fighting women off at every turn, Sweetheart. All I ever wanted and really didn't think I had a chance at, was a woman who could handle me and all the baggage that comes with me. I'm a brooding asshole who enjoys feeling sorry for himself for all that he's lost."

"When you're not blaming yourself," Chris added quietly.

Steve nodded. "I'll admit to that… Then there's Buck. Bucky's a traumatized ex-assassin who still has PTSD and terrifying nightmares and doesn't trust himself. When you came along, and Bucky found you, found all that I'd been looking for, I was happy for him. Jealous, but happy. Imagine how it was for me that you were willing to make room in your heart for me too? What are the odds that we were ever going to find  _you_ , Sweetheart? It doesn't make a lot of sense for you to be afraid of us getting tired of you when we're both just marveling that we've had you at all and all the love you've brought with you."

Her slender arms tightened around him, her little heart flying in her chest.

"You going to take Tony's transfer offer?" Steve wanted to know.

Slowly she pulled back, her gaze meeting his. He undid the rest of her bun, it was precariously wobbling on one side of her head at this point and smoothed her hair back from her face.

"I don't want to." Her eyes were red, still filled with tears. "But I've created quite a mess, haven't I? I heard you two fought. Tony told me Nat is pissed at both of you and so is Darcy and Jane. And Bucky…Is he okay? His nightmares?"

Chris buried her face against his shoulder again at that last question. Steve just held onto her, smoothing a hand over her hair, down her back.

"He's exhausted," Steve told her, "like you are. And mad at me. But he'll be okay. The nightmares, so far, haven't been bad. He just really wants to see you."

"I'm so sorry," Chris mumbled, holding on tighter.

"I am too, Sweetheart," Steve whispered. "But we're going to be okay. We will."

"I don't want to distract the team or you," Chris went on tearfully. "I don't want to cause problems. I'll do better. I'm sorry I'm hard to live with."

"I am as much to blame as you are," Steve whispered. "And I won't do  _that_  again… Unless you  _want_  me to."

Again, she pulled back to look up at him. "I might… want you to one day," she admitted, her face blushing a deep red. "Just… not as hard."

His brows rose at that. He'd remember she said  _that._  Bucky would be  _so_  happy.

"If there's anything you ever want to try, Sweetheart, just ask. We're not likely to tell you no."

Chris held that gaze for a moment then nodded.

"Also tell us  _no_  if there's anything ever introduced that you're not comfortable with," Steve went on. "I felt terrible once my anger wore off. Bucky was right. I have a huge problem with a man laying hands on women or children and I know that's old-fashioned and sexist apparently but that's how I think… Look what I did. Buck and I need to be especially careful with you."

At that, Chris sank back into his arms, snuggling against him and he couldn't remember the last time he'd felt so relieved. It was no time at all until she'd nodded off there in his lap and he didn't want to disturb her right now. Pulling his phone from his pocket, he saw he had messages from Bucky.

BB: Where are you?

BB: Did Tony talk to Chris?

BB: Is she okay?

Grinning, Steve took a picture of him and Chris. Even though her face was turned away from him, it was enough for Buck to see what was going on.

A full minute hadn't passed when he got an answer.

BB: Where?

SR: Her apartment.

It couldn't have been five minutes when Bucky walked in, the relief obvious in his expression as he approached them.

"Is she okay?" he asked gently.

Chris lifted her head at the sound of his voice. "Bucky?"

"Yeah, doll, I'm here." Kneeling next to the chair, he allowed Chris to take his face in her hands and press gentle kisses to his lips. "I've missed you  _so_  much."

"Missed you," she mumbled, wrapping her arms around their dark-haired lover. Over her shoulder, Steve watched some of the tension ease from Bucky's face. Immediately he knew how this was going to have to go.

"Come on," Steve prompted. "I need to put you two to bed. You'll both sleep for three days."

"Four," Chris mumbled under her hair, turning back to Steve and stretching on his lap.

"We'll see," Steve said, kissing her cheek.

Bucky seemed all on board. "Let's go to yours, Stevie. Doll baby doesn't look like she's slept in weeks."

He scooped Chris up so Steve could rise from the chair. Then he stopped and frowned at her. "You didn't eat either?"

Chris didn't look like she knew what to say and Steve shook his head, wanting Bucky to let it go. For the moment.

They grabbed her phone and a couple of other items and headed to Steve's apartment. Bucky took Chris straight to bed while Steve called out for Chinese food. Just maybe if he got her favorite dishes she would eat at some point.

For now, she was back with them, where she belonged, and tonight that was good enough.

 

***

 

 

Chris woke up at some point in the dark, surrounded by warmth. It took her a moment to remember that she'd talked to Steve. She kind of remembered Bucky coming in after that. The rest she must have slept through.

Next to her, Bucky was shifting in his sleep, his muscles tensed. He seemed caught at the beginning of a nightmare and her heart sped up as she considered what she should do.

She'd wake Steve if she really needed to, she decided. As it was, she curled up behind Bucky, her legs curled up behind him, her right arm smoothing up and down his. When it started to worsen, Chris slid up behind him, so her lips were by his ear as he began talking in his sleep, real fear growing in his voice.

"Bucky, wake up," Chris whispered. "Please. You're having a bad dream. You're safe. You're with me."

He was still tense, so she kept it up, making a chant of it and repeating those words in a soft whisper. Slowly, very slowly, the tension eased from his body. He wasn't ready to fight anymore, wasn't pleading.

Chris knew the moment he woke up, wide-eyed and looking around. Rolling onto his back, he looked up to see Chris above him, propped on an elbow. The relieved exhale he blew out broke her heart a little.

"Did I do… anything?" he asked quietly.

Chris shook her head. "It was just a bad dream. I think you came out of it before it got really bad."

"I love you," he whispered, the sincerity in his eyes in the dark had tears stinging the backs of her eyes. "I'm so glad you're here."

"I love you too," she told him, and she did even though she was still concerned about their future.

Carefully, he rolled them, shifting her over him and on her back, further away from Steve.

Bucky lowered his head, claiming her mouth in a kiss that was desperate, seeking. "I need you," Bucky whispered into her ear. "Please?"

Grabbing the hem of Steve's shirt, she pulled it up and over her head. Bucky lowered himself, drugging her with soft kisses that took her breath away. His lips scorched a trail over her jaw, down the column of her throat and then closed around one nipple until her back arched off the bed. She spread her legs at that, allowing him to situate his hips between them as he moved down her body.

Her panties were pulled quickly off, and she expected to feel his weight then, but no. Pushing her thighs apart, his mouth dove for her mound and he meant business. Her thighs tightened about his head, her hands clutched in the satiny locks of his hair as he made her gasp and writhe under him, getting her ready. He didn't stop until she came, smothering her own cries in her arm and the pillow. When the world came back to her, Bucky had positioned himself above her, lining himself up at her entrance.

Chris did moan when he began to sink into her. Between the last mission they'd been on and the last three weeks, it had nearly been two months since either of them had been inside her and her channel clutched at him greedily.

"Not gonna last," he whispered harshly in her ear, beginning to move. "You feel good. You feel too damned good, baby."

Chris wrapped herself around him, wanting to comfort him, wanting the release he offered her. Slowly the fear and dread that tarnished his mind began to fade and his emotions began to change.

_Desire. Love. Need. Need. NEED._

When Bucky began thrusting hard, she knew he was close. She wasn't even chasing a release at that point, she just wanted him to have his, to have what he needed.

Bucky didn't like that plan.

"Doll baby, I need you to come," he pleaded with her. "Please. For me?"

His flesh hand gently reached between their bodies, sliding down to find her clit and teasing it with the most delicate strokes. It never failed to amaze her how her boys were so strong and yet, they could be so delicate, so careful with her.

Bucky knew exactly how to touch her to make her come apart. She buried her face in his shoulder, the sharp cries from her released muffled into his damp skin.

His thrusts lost their rhythm and gained in strength, just on the edge of pain when he finally found his release, crying out in the darkness of the bedroom.

They lay there trying to regain their breath, both of them just knowing they'd awakened Steve. When a loud snore was their answer, they both laughed.

"How did he sleep through that?" Chris asked as Bucky eased off of her.

"He's always been that way," Bucky told her. "I used to bring girls back to our place before the war. A  _lot_. Most of the time, my little punk just slept right through it."

"I'll bet he didn't  _every_  time," she whispered.

"Nah, not every time," Bucky told her, pulling her against him and tucking her under his chin. "And not one of them was anything like you... I'm sorry I woke you up."

Chris snorted. "I'm not."

Bucky's chest bounced as he laughed at that. "I missed you so much, doll. I hope Steve made things right by you. I don't like being away from you."

Chris snuggled into his right shoulder, draping an arm and a leg over him. "I don't like it either. Everything's okay, Buck."

"Good." He pressed a kiss into her hair as she listened to the strong, steady beat of his heart and let the comforting sound lull her back to deep sleep.


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've added covers for my stories at the beginning of Chapter 1. I AM working on SOF too, promise. Thank you for all the kind words and kudos on this story!

The next morning Steve’s phone started humming and he growled as he snatched it from the bedside table.

“Yes?” he asked impatiently.

Chris lifted her head and heard the cadence of Tony’s voice.

“That’s great, Tony,” Steve told him abruptly.

Tony talked for a couple more moments. Then Chris heard a pause before Tony asked, “She’s there with you, isn’t she?”

“Hi, Tony!” Chris called before moving over and cuddling up to Bucky.

“Hey, kid!” Tony yelled.

Tony went on for a couple more minutes.

“Does it  _have_  to be today?” Steve asked irritably. “This morning?”

Well, that didn’t sound good.

“Why do we both have to be there?” If Steve hadn’t slipped into his Captain voice by this point, he would have been dangerously close to whining.

“Yeah, yeah, we’ll be there,” Steve told him and then simply hung up.

“Are you kidding me?” Bucky grumbled irritably. “Why?”

Steve swung his legs over the side of the bed, stretching. “Fury is on his way. Ross is coming with him. Everyone needs to be in on this.”

“Can  _I_  at least sit this one out?” Bucky tried.

Steve had already tried to get one of them out of the meeting.

Steve blew out an exhale. “No, apparently not.”

“We  _just_  got her back,” Bucky  _was_  whining. “Why the fuck do we have to do this right now?”

“Let’s just get it over with,” Steve told him, heading for the shower. “We’ve got thirty minutes.”

Bucky surprised Chris by rolling on top of her pinning her to the mattress. Chris laughed when he peppered her face and neck with playful kisses. Chris laughed thinking it was very much like fighting off a really large puppy.

“How long will it take?” Bucky asked.

The water in the shower started. “Oh, we’ll be there a few hours,” Steve called sourly.

“I’ve got to work anyway,” Chris told him, stretching up to kiss his mouth before pushing at his chest lightly.

Bucky let her up searching for his boxers under the covers.

“Is this a mission?” Chris asked, having no clue what was going on.

“Nah,” Bucky told her heading for the shower. “Meeting about one.”

Chris jumped when her phone chimed on Bucky’s bedside table.  _Tony._

“Hey, boss,” Chris answered grinning.

“So you have a meeting in about 28 minutes,” he told her.

“Seriously?” she asked in a not-so-serious tone.

“Seriously,” he shot back. “Hey, are you okay? What happened after I left?”

“I ended up talking to Steve,” she said quietly though she didn’t know why. They’d have no trouble hearing her conversation even with the water running.

“Is everything okay now? Are  _you_  okay?” The concern in Tony’s voice had her smiling.

“I’m better than I’ve been in weeks,” Chris told him. “Promise.”

“Okay then,” Tony told her. “Go shower and suit up, kid. I’ll see you in the conference room.”

Stealing Bucky’s robe, Chris sprinted to her apartment and started putting herself together. The comments about her weight had been spot on, she hadn’t been paying attention until she went to find something to wear that wouldn’t hang off her. Finally, she settled on a black pencil skirt, a silver blouse and a black blazer to wear with some practical heels. She left her hair down but straightened it to fall sleekly about her face. Chris decided she needed some normal and some of her old confidence, particularly if she was going to be facing comments about her unorthodox relationship. Bucky had never cared what anyone thought from the beginning and now that she knew Steve wasn’t ashamed of it, she could handle it.

A soft knock at her door drew her attention to the time. She had five minutes. A spritz of perfume and she was ready. Grabbing her StarkPad, she darted out the door, running into her boys who eyed her with surprise.

Bucky whistled as he walked completely around her admiring.

“Boss making you go to the meeting?” Steve asked, his gaze anywhere but on her face.

“Afraid so,” she told them, smiling.

“Doll baby, you look amazing,” Bucky told her, motioning her ahead to head to the elevator. “I’m thinking you should boss me around when we get back.”

Chris winked at him over her shoulder. He looked amazingly handsome in his dark jeans and light blue button down – which was as business as Bucky Barnes ever got. Steve was put together in gray slacks and a white dress shirt. His dark leather belt matched the nice shoes he wore. He looked impossibly dashing.

_So much for focusing on the meeting._

They made it off the elevator to see Nat heading in the direction of the conference room with coffee, but she stopped when she saw the three of them approaching with Chris in the middle. Walking up to Chris, Nat linked her free arm through hers and steered her away.

“We’ll see you inside,” Nat told Steve and Bucky dismissively.

Steve nodded and headed into the meeting. Bucky, just because he could, pressed a kiss to Chris’s cheek before following Steve.

“You didn’t answer any of my messages,” Nat was direct with Chris.

Chris nodded, her confidence waning a little. “Nor anyone else’s. I’m sorry, Nat. I wasn’t in a good place.”

“I get that,” Nat told her. “But isolating yourself when things go to hell isn’t always the best solution. I’m your friend, remember?”

Again, Chris nodded.

“Are you okay? Did they apologize?”

“I’m okay,” Chris told her. “And yes, Steve and I have settled our differences for the moment and things are back on.”

“Only now it’s not a secret,” Nat informed her.

Chris blew out an exhale realizing maybe she wasn’t as confident as she thought at all.

“You knew,” Nat realized.

“Just yesterday.”

“Hey,” Nat nudged her with an elbow. “It’s okay. There’s nothing to worry about. It’s not anyone’s business but yours. Right?”

She was right, Chris realized. “But you just know,” Chris thought out loud, “there’s no way this won’t follow me back to the FBI.”

“Is that bad?”

“It could be,” Chris told her. “I guess I’ll find out when I get there.”

“If you choose to go back,” Nat said, steering them in the direction of the conference room when she saw Tony walk in.

Almost everyone was there including Thaddeus Ross but since she was just FBI and not enhanced, he barely spared her a glance. Two seats had been saved next to Steve and Bucky. Nat placed her between herself and Bucky. Chris took her seat and noticed that Tony was studying her, concern obvious in his expression.

The meeting was largely uneventful for the first couple of hours. The mission they spoke of would involve her too and seemed to be large in scope. It was centered around the data they’d obtained on the first mission Chris had gone on, the one where she’d been shot. At the break, Nick Fury approached Steve.

“I need to see you, Barnes, and Danforth for a moment,” he told Steve before heading out of the room.

Bucky smoothed his metal hand over her back, whispering close to her ear.

“It’s okay, doll baby,” he told her. “Let Steve handle this.”

Chris rose to see Steve’s gaze on her, his expression determined. “Let’s get this over with.”

Fury asked them to close the door once they were all in his office. Steve gave her and Bucky the seats on the other side of the desk from Fury and remained standing.

“What did you want to talk about?” Steve began.

Fury gazed at her with his single eye and she did her damnedest to read his emotions. His control rivaled Bucky’s but wasn’t  _quite_  as strong. Surprisingly concern was the strongest emotion there, closest to the surface.

“I’ve been made aware that the three of you are involved in a romantic relationship of sorts,” Fury said, his gaze still on Chris.

She held that gaze and kept her head up.

“We are,” Steve confirmed. “And?”

“It’s unfortunate that anyone outside the three of you had to be made aware of the situation,” Fury went on, glancing up at Steve.

“Yes, it is,” Steve agreed. “But it’s done now.”

“My concern is the impact that this will have on the team,” Fury explained. “Romantic entanglements pose problems and this one is very unconventional.”

“The three of us have no plans to broadcast our private lives or let it impact our work in any way,” Steve assured him.

Bucky nodded and so did Chris.

“You realize that this may pose problems for you when you return to the FBI,” Fury said to Chris. “They frown on scandal but I’m sure you know that.”

Her boys were both gazing at her carefully. While their masks were still in place, she could tell they hadn’t thought of that.

_Regret. Regret. REGRET._

“I am aware of it,” she told the director. “I’ll deal with any consequences then. There’s no use in worrying about something that may never happen.”

Nick’s expression changed to one of approval.

The relief vibes she got from Bucky on that note were strong. She just knew he took that to mean that maybe she wouldn’t return to the FBI.

Maybe she wouldn’t.

It wasn’t even an option at the moment and she needed to focus on the now.

“If at some future point your… situation…  _does_  pose problems for the team,” Nick spoke carefully, “we’ll be forced to move Danforth to another location until it’s deemed safe for her to be without our protection. I trust you all understand.”

Chris shouldn’t have been shocked at the warning but yeah, she kind of was. So if things got out of hand with their relationship, they’d pull her out. From the emotions coming from Fury, she got the impression it was more of a warning for her boyfriends to behave than it was for her. She understood why it had to be said at all. The Avengers dealt with global concerns, world threats. They had to be focused.

On the one hand, she resented being used again the two men she cared about to keep them in line, as if that were ever going to be an issue with Steve and Bucky tended to follow his lead. On the other hand, it had her cringing because the reason their situation had been revealed at all was because of her and it wasn’t the first time her actions had drawn attention to the three of them.

It gave her a lot to think about.

“I understand,” she said simply. Steve’s expression remained calm but underneath he wasn’t happy about what they’d just been told.

Bucky wasn’t even trying to hide his displeasure at it all.

Steve nodded. “Is that everything?”

“It is,” Nick told them, rising from his desk as they made their way out of the office.

Chris headed down a side hallway for a moment, both Bucky and Steve following her.

“What does he  _mean_  they’ll move her to another location?” Bucky was upset.

Steve placed a steady hand on his shoulder. “It’s not going to come to that,” Steve told him. “He  _had_  to say that now that everything is out.”

Chris’s heart squeezed in her chest. If Bucky was that upset about the possibility of them moving her out of the compound, what had  _she_  done to him over the last three weeks?

“He’s right,” Chris whispered, taking his flesh hand in hers for the moment. “He  _had_  to say that. If it were someone else, he would have said it to them too.”

She hated the shadows behind his expressive blue eyes, wanting to banish them forever and more than a little afraid some of them were her fault. “Let’s just get through these meetings so we can do make-up sex when we’re done,” she whispered.

_That_ had his smile returning.

“Yeah?” Bucky smirked at her then Steve.

“Yeah,” she told him with a flirty smile. “I could even boss you around if you wanted me to.”

Bucky playfully growled at her as Steve urged them back up towards the conference room.

Sam stood waiting for them to catch up, grinning at Chris. Steve’s hand at her lower back was a comfort.

“We’ve missed you, Chris,” Sam said in his usual teasing tone. “You get everything straightened out over at the nursing home?”

Chris had to laugh at that. “Yeah, Sam, I believe I did.”

The Falcon cast a glance at each of her men before returning his gaze to her and smirking. “Well, when you decide to trade them in for a much younger model, I’m hoping you’ll keep me in mind.”

“Don’t you have anything else to do, bird-brain?” Bucky grumbled but she could tell he wasn’t really offended.

“No, right now I really don’t,” Sam went on with a wink, leading them back into the meeting.

When they re-entered the room, Thaddeus Ross was  _very_  focused on her. What was this about? Chris made an effort to pointedly avoid looking at him from that point on, but she stayed aware of him in the room as the meeting resumed. From across the large table, she couldn’t get much. What she thought she got was curiosity and not the good kind.

Steve and Bucky had noticed it as well, the tension from both was palpable. It didn’t take Chris long to realize that it was directed at Steve. Ross, for whatever reason, wasn’t a fan of Steve’s and just might be considering how to use her against Steve.

Well, that wouldn’t do.

“So at that point in the mission, I’ll manage intel from the base,” Tony explained. “Danforth will be handling data analysis here at the compound. We’re going to have to work fast.  _So_  fast.”

Chris nodded, understanding it was a high-pressure situation. It was the sort of situation Chris loved and thrived in.

“You mean Athena.” Ross stared directly at Chris.

Bucky tensed next to her. Chris folded her hands on the table in front of her calmly.

“You actually plan to have a known cyberterrorist step in on this mission in such a capacity?” Ross asked.

“She works for me,” Tony defended her. “I’ve no reason to question her loyalties.”

“She has loyalties to parts of this group certainly,” Ross cast cold glances at Steve. “But the council will not approve someone who is practically a criminal working on this mission. It’s too important.”

Steve was about to snap, she could feel it. She just needed him to hold on another few seconds.

“With all respect, Mr. Secretary, my activities were all commissioned by the bureau,” Chris explained calmly.

“But you learned to conduct yourself as a hacker somewhere, did you not?” the man shot back.

Chris calmly shrugged. “It takes a hacker to stop one, doesn’t it?”

“We need her on this,” Tony cut in. “If she’s out, I’m out.”

“So am I,” Steve stated.

Ross shook his head, smirking. “There’s nothing on your record before you arrived at Quantico, agent. Care to explain that?”

“My personal records were sealed to protect my surviving family,” Chris was getting pissed off now.

“There’s no other reason?” Ross’s sarcasm was biting.

“You’re welcome to try and find something. I think you’ll be disappointed.”

Natasha was barely concealing the grin on her face as she glanced at Chris. Barton wasn’t even trying to hide his amusement, neither was Sam.

Tony winked at her before moving on to the last part of the mission. Ross kept shooting her looks meant to intimidate but Chris wasn’t worried. She chose to ignore him until the meeting finally concluded. Ross was one of the first out of there.

Everyone started filtering out of the room, it had been four hours after all, Tony caught her by the arm as she rose from her chair.

“I’m behind you all the way, kid, you know that,” Tony began quietly. “But I need to know. Is there anything before Quantico I should know about?”

Steve and Bucky waited for an answer to that too.

Chris shook her head. “Not a thing. It was to protect my aunt. She’s all the blood family I have left. I wanted her protected. I insisted on it when I took on the Athena persona.”

Tony nodded his understanding. “Makes it easy then. Okay, we’ll catch up later.”

“Didn’t I tell you we needed you on the girls’ team here?” Wanda told her, giving her a quick hug as they made their way to the elevator.

As soon as the doors slid closed, Chris turned her attention to Steve.

“Why is Ross out to get you?” She wanted to know.

“Because of me,” Bucky explained to her.

“Not entirely,” Steve cut in. “I wouldn’t sign the Sokovian Accords and that was what really started it. Half of the Avengers agreed to sign hoping to still have some control over what we do as a team but it didn’t work out the way we thought. Around that time, there was the bombing.”

“When Zemo set it up to look like Bucky had been the terrorist when he was not involved,” Chris finished for him.

Steve nodded. “When Tony realized what had happened, he followed us to where Zemo waited. He and T’Challa helped us take him into custody. I expected a big fight but it was actually over pretty quickly.”

“I never heard. What was Zemo after?” Chris asked.

“His family died in Sokovia,” Steve explained. “He wanted payback and he tried to use Buck to get it. He knew that…”

“That?”

“That I killed Starks’ parents,” Bucky said grimly. “While I was with HYDRA. He planned to use me to get Steve and Tony to tear the Avengers apart.”

Chris let that sink in, shocked.

Fear rolled off Bucky now and Steve was more than a little anxious.

“Bucky,” Chris said with a sigh, “I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry they did that to you. If he’d gotten to Tony with that first… It could have been a real catastrophe. I know Steve would have fought for you.”

Steve nodded, agreeing.

Bucky stared at her with a mixture of surprise and disbelief, seemed to be stumbling over what to say.

Chris glanced down as the elevator doors opened to their floor. She led them back to Steve’s apartment and took a seat in the living room as Steve closed and locked the door and joined Bucky on the couch.

“I was given dossiers on each of you before that first mission,” Chris told them both.

“How extensive?” Bucky wanted to know.

“Very extensive,” Chris admitted. “It outlined many missions you’d completed for HYDRA, targets you’d neutralized. I know we’ve not really talked about it, Bucky, but I’ve known all of that since the beginning. Even before I met you, I knew that wasn’t who you really were. Now that I  _do_  know you… You’re someone I admire. Someone with incredible strength. Not many people couldn’t have survived what you did. I wouldn’t have been able to.”

“See?” Steve kept his tone teasing. “It’s not just  _me_  telling you that to make you feel better.”

Bucky held out his hand to her and she rose, letting him pull her down onto his lap.

“You don’t…”

“Hate you?” Chris said lightly. “No, Bucky. I never could.”

Slowly he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close to him and pressing his forehead to her chest.

Chris ran her hands through his hair to calm him.

Chris pulled back to glance at Steve. “You’re not his target though. Steve is. I feel like he’s going to try and use me or me and Bucky to create trouble for you.”

Steve’s hand smoothed up her back, smoothing over Bucky’s hands too. “He can try.”

Steve leaned forward to brush his lips over hers, testing the waters. His lips felt so good. It had been weeks since she’d kissed him properly. Angling her head, Chris deepened the kiss, happy with the low moan she drew from his lips.

Steve’s fingers tugged at the buttons on her blouse while Bucky peeled the blazer back. Steve’s lips burned a fiery trail down her throat, down her chest. One large hand reached up to cup her breast before pulling the cup down so he could tease her nipple with his mouth and she released the breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding.

Bucky wasn’t idle, pulling her blouse free of the skirt, pulling it off before unhooking her bra and removing it also. Steve was lavishing attention on her breasts so gently as Bucky slid a hand up her thigh, under her skirt moving steadily upward as his lips teased the back her neck.

“Are you kidding me?” Bucky’s hand stopped and Chris smiled, knowing he’d found it.

Steve stopped what he was doing for a moment. “What?”

Bucky hauled her skirt up to reveal the flesh-colored thigh-high stockings she wore beneath.

Steve groaned. “That’s what you had under there in the boardroom the entire time?”

“You know what she  _didn’t_  have?” Bucky grinned at him over her shoulder.

Steve’s other hand slid up her other thigh, discovering Bucky was correct. She wasn’t wearing panties.

Steve shook his head, lowering his head to her shoulder. “So glad I didn’t know about this. That fucking meeting was long enough.”

Chris tipped up his strong chin. “Language, Captain.”

Steve smirked at her while Bucky petted her pussy lips, driving her crazy.

“Really?” Steve asked.

Chris nodded, squealing when he snatched her up out of Bucky’s lap and threw her over his shoulder, making a mad dash for the bedroom. Bucky was on his heels.

He’d been promised make-up sex after all.

 


	21. Chapter 21

Over the following week, S.H.I.E.L.D. prepared for the next mission. Ross was around the entire week, staring at Chris often as she worked hard in her office to do her job and act oblivious. By the third day, Ross wasn't having it, standing in her doorway as she tried to head to the food court for lunch.

Chris did her best to not show emotion. Benignly she glanced up at the stern-looking man.

"Can I help you?" Chris asked calmly.

"A moment of your time, Agent Danforth," he said stepping forward, deliberately making her step back and shutting her office door behind him.

Chris went to lean on her desk and folded her arms across her desk. She watched passively as he took a seat in front of her desk.

"Our next mission in St. Petersburg is crucially important," Ross started with.

Chris nodded. It was a fact she knew and understood.

"I don't like the fact that you're involved in the mission at all," he said, narrowing his eyes on her.

Chris nodded again. "I'm aware."

"Do you honestly think because of your… inappropriate relationship with Captain Rogers and Sergeant Barnes that you're safe from me?" Ross said way too calmly.

"Do you honestly think bringing up an unrelated facet of my life will intimidate me at all when it comes to my career?" she asked.

His emotions were strong, made her pause. Here was a man who didn't want control. He  _needed_  it.

His feelings towards Chris? Her only significance to him was a means to hurt Steve. He wasn't even trying to hide it.

"I like your empathic ability," Ross said, the secretary doing air quotes with his fingers as he said it. "It did you no good in the FBI. Why do you think it will benefit you here?"

Natasha stood not far from her office, could see inside because of the clear glass walls. The spy eyed Ross warily, looking ready to burst in if Chris should need him. It also gave her an excuse to talk to Bruce who walked towards her in the hallway beyond.

Chris grinned at Ross.

"Is this the part where you to tell me to run off and read tarot cards at the circus, Mr. Secretary?" Chris chided him. "In truth, I didn't use or even need my extrasensory abilities to do my job at the bureau and I don't need them here. I have a particular skill set and I'm one of the best in the world at what I do. Even though I am a woman…"

Ross sneered at her for that.

"Really?" Chris said. "If I were a man, would you be here trying to make me feel bad about myself? Trying to make me doubt myself as you are right now? I doubt it."

Ross leaned forward, staring her down. "I'm not interested in the fact that you are a woman. I'm interested in the fact that after a single joint initiative with the FBI, you latched onto Barnes. By the second initiative, you lured in Rogers.  _Conveniently_  after that, Athena was compromised, and you were generously offered shelter and protection from S.H.I.E.L.D."

_Now_  Chris was pissed. Taking a deep breath, she tried to keep a tight grip on it.

"So obviously I seduced Barnes and Rogers, clumsily compromised myself, just  _so_  I would end up where I am because I have some terrible, traitorous purpose that has yet to be revealed, right?" Chris told him in a tone that had an edge to it.

"There's no record of your activities before Quantico, Agent," Ross said sharply.

"That doesn't mean I'm a secret HYDRA agent, Mr. Secretary. Have a talk with Director Crenshaw if you're so worried about it. He'll tell you anything you wish to know," Chris explained tightly.

"I've talked to your former director," Ross told her. "His loyalty to someone so… questionable… is ill-advised. Admirable, but still… ill-advised."

Chris had reached the end of her patience with the conversation.

"What are you accusing me of?" Chris wanted to cut to the chase.

Ross stared at her defiantly.

"Come on," Chris told him with a smirk. "All of that dramatic build up and then…"

"I'm not sure what your game is, Agent," Ross rose from the chair, stepping towards her in a way meant to intimidate. "But I  _will_  find out. I will make Rogers and Barnes see you for what you truly are."

Chris didn't back down. "And what's that?"

"Rogers is an antiquated fool but he's no traitor. He  _can_  be controlled. And  _he_  controls Barnes."

Chris laughed. "And you think  _I_  control them? Who's the fool  _here_?"

Pushing away from her desk, she was happy when she forced Ross back a step, her hands on her hips. "I have no wish to control anyone. Do you understand? If someone is good enough to earn a place in my life, I will treat them with great care and great respect. I don't use the people I care about for any hidden agenda or ulterior motives. You got that? I don't think like  _you_. And I don't like you. If you're here to accuse me of something, get on with it. If not, move along."

"I'll figure it out," Ross told her before calmly turning and heading for the door. "It's only a matter of time."

Chris knew Nat was watching so she walked around her desk to reach for her bag in the floor, acting as if she were searching for something and trying to get herself under control. The truth was, she was so angry she was fighting off tears. She'd be damned if she'd let the bastard use her in any way against her men. And that's what he was about. She could  _feel_  it.

Chris never heard him enter. She rarely did. She smiled at the heavy warmth of his hand on her back as she rose to her feet and turned to look up into his face. Was there anything more comforting than Steve's sky-blue eyes?

"Sweetheart? You okay?" Concern colored his expression as he slid his hands up the backs of her arms.

Normally, neither she nor Steve were physically demonstrative around the compound, but she surprised him entirely when she threw herself into his arms.

"Chris, you're shaking," he said gently close to her ear. "What did the bastard say?"

He knew Ross had been there. Good.

She kept her head pressed to that impressive expanse of chest for another minute, enjoying the steady beat of his heart, before pulling back to look up into his handsome face.

"I'll tell you later," she whispered. "It's fine. He just really pissed me off."

Steve nodded his understanding. "He has that effect on people."

There was something else. She was surprised to feel dread, worry on him.

"Are  _you_  okay?" she had to ask.

"I sent Buck out on a mission with Wanda, Vision, and Sam earlier. Didn't have a chance to let you know before he took off. We tried. I'm… really sorry."

Steve was braced, waiting for her possible ire but Chris wasn't upset. It had been one nightmare of a morning between the schematics she was struggling to understand for Tony in meetings and then having to deal with Ross. Yes, she hated not getting to say goodbye to Bucky, but she'd pretty much been out of reach most of the morning. She could hardly be mad that they'd been unable to reach her.

"Steve, I understand," Chris told him, enjoying how quickly the dread fell away from him. "He won't be gone long, will he?"

Steve shook his head, clearly relieved. "He'll probably be back sometime tonight."

She blew out the breath she didn't realize she'd been holding. "Good."

"Can I take you out for lunch?" Steve asked, charming her with her favorite smile.

"Yes, please!" Chris was starving.

Not long after they were enjoying lunch, sharing a table with Nat and Bruce.

"So how are you doing with the latest schematics?" Bruce asked in that quiet way of his.

Chris shook her head. "Completely lost. My background does me  _no_  good here," she explained with a laugh.

Bruce's grin was shy. "Yeah, well, it's complicated stuff. I'd be glad to come by and see if I can help you make more sense of it."

"I would  _really_  appreciate that," Chris told him. "Thank you. Nat, I could use your take too. One set of prints was done in Russian and…"

Was it her imagination that Nat's face colored slightly?

"Yeah, sure. Let me know when you want me to come by," Nat offered.

"How about right after lunch?" Chris asked. "I've got another meeting tomorrow morning and it would be so nice to go into it knowing  _something_."

The little smile Steve wore as he quietly ate let her know that  _he_  knew what she was up to. In her defense, Chris really did need their help. What would It hurt for the two of them to be there with her? Together?

Nat got a call and Bruce told her he'd be in her office in thirty minutes. The minute they were both gone, Steve slid a hand onto her knee under the table, speaking low into her ear.

"There's a chance this might not work out the way you hope it will," he told her.

Chris smiled. "There's a chance it might work out  _exactly_  the way I hope it will."

"Do you even really need their help?" he asked suspiciously but smiling.

"Actually, I  _really_  do," Chris explained. "Those suits and weapons Tony designs? Intricate. Very intricate. Some of it is familiar to my own knowledge base, some of it's very different. I just hope I can  _keep_  this job."

His hand gently tightened on her knee. "You  _want_  to keep this job?"

The glint of hope she read in those baby blues didn't alarm her as it would have a few weeks ago. Ever since their misunderstanding, Steve had been so careful with her, almost as if he were afraid she'd disappear in a puff of smoke if he said the wrong thing or touched her the wrong way. It was endearing how hard he tried but it also made her feel guilty.

"It's growing on me." Chris meant that. Aside from the fact that she couldn't leave the compound, her life was pretty comfortable. She'd never had such a nice place to live, made twice her highest salary, and her men?

Chris had to admit to being quite a bit spoiled.

"I have a meeting with Tony and then I think I'm going to take it easy this evening," Steve told her. "Feel free to join me when you get done with work."

They rose from the table, Steve brushed a kiss to her forehead. During the week they mostly slept in their own apartments, but Friday and Saturday nights usually saw them sleeping in together at Steve's place. Oh, there was quite a bit of grumbling from Bucky about it, but Steve was right in that they were better able to manage their work that way and it really did make their time together more special.

Chris nodded. "I'll stop by."

She dashed off hoping her afternoon with Bruce and Natasha went better than her morning had.

 

***

 

Steve smiled when he heard the door open, just having given her access to his apartment in the last week. His back was to the door, so he felt her rather than saw her come up behind him as he worked on a sketch, a drawing of Natasha and Bruce with an angry hulk in the background.

The smell of her perfume, the soft press of her hands on his shoulders had him stopping to just enjoy having her there. Steve smiled, happy to be having such a normal day with his best girl here to see him, his best guy already on his way home.

They'd been on a few missions, mostly him and Bucky together but a handful had seen one of them sent and one of them left at the compound. There was no awkwardness between Bucky and Chris when it was  _Steve_  who went out. They'd been an item before they'd welcomed him to the relationship and oddly,  _mostly_ , he wasn't jealous.

It was just awkward when it was just him and Chris, but he suspected that it was just him. If Chris were uncomfortable at all, it didn't show.

A myriad of worries would float through his mind even though Bucky had told him they deserved time together when he was gone, and Chris had told him she cared about him as much as she did Bucky. It still made him nervous.

"That's beautiful, Steve," Chris whispered close to his ear before pressing a kiss to his temple. Her slender arms wrapped around his shoulders and he enjoyed the warm press of her behind him, the heavy dose of her perfume that captured his senses in a way that had the pencil trembling slightly in his hand.

"Thank you," he admitted, pleased by her praise. "Can't think why they were on my mind."

"Me either." Chris laughed, walking around his chair and sitting herself in his lap. "They were so cute and just awkward with each other after lunch. You know what it's like to watch  _the_  Black Widow turn into a shy violet like that? It was hard to keep a straight face."

Steve laughed with her, he'd seen it before. Natasha out of her element, out of character, was pretty shocking not to mention rare.

"Any luck?" he asked.

Chris shrugged. "They said something about getting dinner later. Maybe?"

Steve set his sketchpad and pencils on the floor by the chair before wrapping his arms around her.

"Oh, please don't stop drawing on my account. Please? I can go," Chris told him, pleading.

Steve's attention was riveted to the beautiful woman in his lap now and he held her gently in place.

"I can draw any time," he admitted. "I don't get an opportunity like  _this_  every day."

He stole a quick kiss from her lips before trailing down her jaw to the silky soft flesh of her throat. The scent she wore was concentrated there, he buried his face there and into her tucked up hair, just breathing her in. When he began to tease the shell of her ear with his lips, to nibble at the sensitive lobe, he loved the way she squirmed in his lap. Breathlessly, her little hands clutched at his shirt, smoothed up into his hair.

Chris shifted over him, straddling his lap and he watched, fascinated, as her slim fingers began to pluck at the buttons of her blouse. When he moved to stop her, her other hand blocked his.

"Let me," she whispered. "Let me take care of  _you_."

Steve watched as she finished unbuttoning her blouse, pulled it off, letting it float to the floor behind her somewhere. Beneath she wore a lacy gray bra, the shade nearly matched her eyes and his mouth began to water. All that creamy flesh on display, just for him.

Chris smiled at him, plucking the clip out of her hair and letting it fall in shiny blonde locks around her shoulders. He'd told her often how much he loved her hair down. Watching her run her fingers through it to arrange it? Made him want to do the same.

But he waited, wanting to see what she was up to.

Chris's hands hauled up the navy sweatshirt he wore, making him remove it before plucking at the tank he wore underneath it. Chris wasn't satisfied until he was shirtless and that was fine with him, her gentle hands skimming over his upper body in a way that had him panting.

She rained soft kisses over his chest and up his neck, her hands whisper soft on his skin as she took her time worshipping him. He ran his hands up and down the soft skin of her back, enjoying the gooseflesh he was able to raise there and there as he held onto her loosely.

When she pulled back, leaving the chair to stand before him, Steve struggled to catch his breath, unable to take his eyes off her. He watched her slide off the slacks she'd worn for work, drop them to the floor to reveal the panties that matched her bra. He slid one hand over his aching cock, he couldn't help it, as she crooked a finger at him and headed for his bedroom.

Steve got rid of his jeans on the way, his boxers dropped to the floor before he climbed on the bed. He loved the way Chris ogled him, her teeth buried in her lower lip as he joined her on his bed. So many things floating through his mind, things he wanted with her, things he wanted with her  _and_  Bucky. Of course it didn't take her long to figure him out.

"What are you thinking about?" Chris asked him, grinning.

He felt his face heat up and her laughter made it worse.

"I see," Chris told him. "Want to share those dirty thoughts, Captain?"

Steve shook his head. Sometimes he swore she could read his mind. While Steve was more than happy to drop his Captain America persona when he was in private, well, he always thought he might like to bring it out in the bedroom once in a while. What it would it be like to let the good Captain direct their activities in bed for a night? Bucky always loved a little role play.

Chris? They'd come close to playing like that a time or two. He usually saved his rougher play for when it was just him and Bucky. He didn't want to scare her or have her worried about getting hurt.

"This  _must_  be good," Chris told him, crawling to him on the bed. "Is this about some mission, Captain?"

Steve grinned at her, took himself in hand and began stroking himself in long, firm strokes.

"It is," he said using the voice he used on missions. "It's classified, and I'll have to wait until Sergeant Barnes is back to review the parameters."

"I'm on this mission too, right, Captain?" Chris played along with a teasing smile.

Steve nodded.

"How will the mission go, sir?" Chris asked him, flirting.

"Guess there's no harm in reviewing the basics," Steve told her firmly. "Undress."

Those beautiful gray eyes flashed at him as she sat up on her knees, making quick work of her bra before lifting up to pull off the lace panties.

He let his gaze slowly move over the delicate curves of her body, curves he often craved.

"Grab the headboard," he ordered, pleased when she did just that. Chris edged towards the headboard, grabbing the top bar firmly. He watched, trying not to smile, as she pushed the lower half of her body back until she was on her knees, beautifully exposed for him. When she spread her thighs apart, he saw just a hint of her glistening center, caught the faintest scent of her.

"What's next, Captain?" Chris asked her tone still playful.

Steve pulled himself up, moved behind her. "You consent to a random inspection?"

Chris nodded, glancing shyly over her shoulder at him.

Steve moved closer behind her, on his knees with his hands on her ass now. "What was that?"

"I mean, yes, sir. I consent for inspection. Sorry, sir."

"Better," Steve grumbled.

His hands slid up her back to her shoulders, massaging here and there where he felt knots of tension. He worked her over gently before his hands slid around her ribs, capturing the firm globes of her breasts in his palms while he enjoyed the way she slightly trembled in his grasp. She was getting more turned on by the minute, he could smell it.

When he trailed his hands up her side and back to her hips, her breath caught, and he smiled, made her wait. When he leaned forward to gently sink his teeth into the meat of her ass, her gasp was loud, had his cock twitching for attention. The cheeks of her ass were so small in his hands, he gently pulled her apart, enjoying the way she slightly shook in anticipation. How wet she was, and he'd barely touched her.

When his right hand came down on her ass with a light stinging smack. He loved the little jump that resulted, but she didn't try to turn around again. He loved the light print of his hand there, caressed it.

The raw moan that tore from her throat broke his resolve.

First, he teased her with his mouth and hands, his grip on her making it impossible for her to get away from him. Not like she was  _really_  trying at first. Steve drove her insane in every way she liked, teasing her clit with the tip of his tongue before gently applying suction and sliding his fingers inside her. He loved how desperate she became in his clutches, fighting his grip and fighting to hold off her release for just a little bit longer.

Steve wanted her to come, doubling his efforts until she screamed, her knuckles white where she gripped the headboard still. The cry of his name on her lips was one of the best sounds in the world, had him hard and aching as he watched her crumple on the bed before him.

He hauled her hips back up, draping himself over her back, one hand clutching in her hair but not tight enough to hurt.

"Did I tell you that you could let go?" he whispered harshly.

"No," Chris was panting, licking her lips. "No, Captain."

Grabbing her hands, he placed them back on the headboard, his own hand only leaving hers long enough to position himself to push into her from behind, Once he was sinking into her, her lyrical gasps making him happy, his hand closed back over hers. His hands had secured hers to the top bar, not letting her go.

When Steve was buried inside her, he paused to catch his breath. Something about Chris… it felt unbelievably good to be inside her, just as Bucky said, and it had his imagination running wild, filling with desires he'd held for a while now.

"You feel so good around me," he whispered in her ear, "your tight little pussy clamped around me. There's nothing really better than that. Except…"

Chris shivered in his grasp, moaning at the devastating rhythm he'd established as he thrust in and out of her velvety heat.

"Except?" her question was a breathy little gasp.

"Want Bucky inside you too," Steve admitted roughly. "Want to feel you stretched around us both."

"Steve," Chris said on a moan, "I've wanted that. For so long…"

"Yeah?" He didn't think it was possible for him to get harder, but he did at her confession.

"Yes, please."

Gripping both of her hands with his left, he allowed his right hand to slide up her arm, over her back. Gooseflesh raised at the trail his fingers left on her body. He palmed her ass before his fingers slid between her cheeks, stopping just above where he was moving within her.

Chris shuddered as his finger traced her other entrance.

"Bucky would be below you," he explained, his finger still teasing that tender ring of flesh. "I'd be right here. Would you like that?"

Her pussy tightened around him and he hissed, unprepared for the enthusiasm of her response but he hung on.

"Please," she begged him.

"Anyone ever taken you here?" he asked, his tongue teasing the lobe of her ear.

Chris shook her head and the blush that darkened her face and neck pleased him more than it should have.

"Please," she whispered.

Steve continued to tease the entrance he planned to breach soon even as he fucked her with increasingly firm strokes.

"Steve?"

"Not tonight, Sweetheart," he told her, his hips powering against her now as hard as he dared, fighting off his own release. "With Bucky."

"Yes… yes…"

Chris came so hard, clutching around him with a ferocity and desperation that was new. He couldn't fight her like that. Steve came with her, shouting. The world went black for him as their bodies strained together in pleasure.

Chris collapsed below him, and he pulled free of her, releasing her hands. Steve curled his own body around hers, lifting each of her hands to make sure he hadn't hurt her. Gently he massaged her knuckles, brought them to his mouth for a kiss.

"Did you… did you mean that?" Chris asked, not looking at him but blushing fiercely.

"I did," he promised her.

"I've wanted to ask for that but…"

"You thought I'd tell you no?" Steve smirked at her.

Chris glanced up at him now with her soft, gray eyes and nodded.

"We'll have to be careful," Steve pointed out.

They dozed off after that, Steve pulled the sheets up over them, content to stay right there. Yeah, it was a weeknight, but he didn't care. He wanted her to stay right there with him more.

It was much later but before midnight when the buzz of her phone woke Chris up. Gently pulling away from Steve, she padded into the living room to snatch up her phone. As she expected, she had texts from Bucky.

BB: Either one of you awake? We just got in.

Chris: I am.

BB: Hey doll. I've missed you.

Chris: Miss you too.

BB: Can I come see you? We don't have to tell, Stevie. :)

Chris: I'm with Stevie. Come to his.

BB: REALLY? You got him to do away with "the rule"?

Chris: Not exactly. Lol Just come over.

Chris headed back to Steve's bedroom and hopped back in, deciding to stay awake so she could see their dark-haired lover who was on his way.

Next to her, Steve was sprawled on his side, a smile on his face in his sleep.

It was a good night.


	22. Chapter 22

Bucky couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt so nervous about waiting for a girl as he did now, waiting for Chris to open her door.

Steve, Wanda, and Vision had been sent out on a shorter mission to Eastern Europe, more a goodwill effort than a situation where their guy would be in real danger. He’d only be gone a couple of days. Yeah, Bucky knew he could probably convince Chris to let him in, they could order take-out, relax in front of the television. With a little effort, he was pretty certain he could convince her to let him stay over which, to be honest, was his primary objective.

Bucky hated the entire “keeping up appearances” crap. Everyone at the compound knew they were a threesome though God only knew how Tony and Pepper kept that away from the tabloids so far.

Couldn’t they just get Tony to expand Steve’s place and move in together already?

When Chris finally opened the door, she looked so cute in one of his sweatshirts and a pair of leggings with enormous socks. None of it matched and that had him chuckling. Chris became so engrossed in the projects Tony enlisted her help with and she could literally pass hours on those projects, oblivious to most everything around her.

At first, they were patient with her. Until they figured out patience could easily mean she remembered them the next day or the day after that.

Steve took more of a caveman approach. Last week he’d literally hauled her up away from her laptop and carried her to the bedroom for them. Hey, it was a date night and they only had a couple of those each week on Friday and Saturday because of her and Steve's “rule.”

As her gray eyes widened on him, he wore a nice pair of slacks and a dress shirt with his hair swept back, her mouth dropped open. He pulled the bundle of red roses from behind his back and offered them to her while her eyes grew suspiciously shiny.

“Bucky,” her hands shook a little as she took the roses from him. “What’s this?”

“Can I come in?” he asked grinning at her.

Chris nodded, stepping back to let him in and closing the door behind him.

Pulling her into his arms, he claimed her mouth in a kiss that had her heart hammering in her chest. When he pulled back, she looked dazed, her lips swollen and red.

“Did you have any plans this evening, doll?” he asked gently.

“Ah, I was just going to… I, ah…”

Bucky loved her flustered like that.

“No, not really.”

He followed her to the kitchen so she could pull a crystal vase out for the roses, arranging them in between sneaking glances at him.

“You look  _very_  handsome,” Chris finally managed. “And you smell wonderful.”

Bucky smirked at her, happy with how his plan was going so far. “Thank you, doll. I was hoping I might be able to convince you to let me take you out to dinner tonight.”

His heart clenched in his chest at the look of longing on her face. She hadn’t complained since the mall incident got resolved about being confined to the compound. Still, he and Steve both knew it wore on her.

“Have you eaten?” Bucky asked carefully. Their girl had a terrible habit of missing meals simply because she was so engrossed in what she was doing with work and it wasn’t a healthy habit.

Bucky found the way her cheeks flushed pink endearing as she shook her head.

“Go dress up,” he told her. “I’ll wait.”

Nodding, she dashed off to her bedroom and he was pleased it had been that easy. He’d been ready to charm her until she agreed to go so it was a testament to how much she needed a break for her to run and get dressed, no questions.

When she came back out, Bucky stared. He’d never seen Chris in anything so…  _feminine_. Not that he didn’t like the sharp clothes she wore for work because she was a sexy, sophisticated FBI agent. When she wasn’t at work, she wore skin tight-jeans and mostly their shirts and that was good too. Chris really couldn’t look unattractive.

The navy dress showed off her curves to perfection before flaring out into a wide skirt around her knees, the floral print making her look almost delicate. She’d added jewelry, curled her hair into ringlets and applied a scent that reminded him of the perfumes his sister had always begged for when they were kids but couldn’t afford because times had been hard.

“You look beautiful, doll baby,” Bucky whispered, taking out his phone to capture a picture of her like this. Steve had to see how beautiful she looked so he sent it to him with no explanations.

Bucky held out his arm to her as he might have done many years ago.

“Thank you.” Chris took his arm and let him lead her into the lower level of the compound. They passed Sam trying to charm Jeri at the front desk and having luck if the lady’s grin was any indication. Sam winked at them as they walked by. Jeri waved at Chris who waved back.

There were three nice restaurants in the compound, all Micheline-starred, and Bucky had honestly never been in any of them, usually preferring to stay in the privacy of his apartment or Steve’s when not on missions. Tonight, he wanted to show off their girl, treat her to a nice meal.

After a couple of glasses of wine, Chris was charming him with stories from her childhood, from her training in Quantico. He entertained her with tales from his childhood with Steve, conveniently leaving out the ones where  _he_  was the dumbass. Bucky thought to himself he could sit there at the table with her all night, enjoying the best meal he’d had in ages while he listened to her talk and laugh, lit up from the inside like home on a cold, snowy night.

After they left the truly wonderful Italian restaurant, Bucky took her for a stroll around the compound, the same trail they jogged along by day for training, but it was his luck that the moon was out, shining brightly and Chris was content to hold his hand and walk along with him as they talked about so many things.

When they arrived back at her door, it crossed his mind to kiss her goodnight and head back to his apartment so it would be like a proper date from  _his_  time. He loved being a gentleman, to treat her right for a night.

Bucky claimed that goodnight kiss, dragging it out as much as he could without being too grabby. He blew out an exhale. He  _could_  do this…

Chris just knew him too well.

“I don’t have to be in at work until lunchtime tomorrow,” Chris explained. “You could stay the night. If you wanted. I could make you breakfast before you started training.”

His heart squeezed at the sincerity of her offer, so sweet without any trace of her usual playful snark.

Bucky did like to sleep and he slept very well when he had at least one of his lovers, preferably both, next to him. No way he was turning down that offer.

“I’d like to stay with you tonight, Chris,” Bucky said quietly, letting her pull him into her apartment.

They talked as she shut down her laptop, turned out lights, the romantic magic of the evening still all around them. He was content to take off his shoes and stretch out on her bed, watching her in the bathroom as she changed into – he didn’t see what she’d put on and now she had her robe over top of it it – and get ready for bed.

When she finally joined him in her bedroom, he was propped up against her headboard, hands tucked behind his head. Bucky wasn’t sure he’d seen her smile that way at him before.

“I’ve had a really wonderful time tonight,” Chris explained. “Thank you.”

“I have too, doll,” Bucky replied. “It’s been nice. I guess it’s just so easy for me to picture things…”

Chris slipped off her robe, revealing a blue satin and lace gown that was elegant and modest. It had his libido growing fangs. He had to fight himself to keep from ripping that lacy thing off her and burying himself inside her. That wasn’t what the night was about.

“Picture what?” Chris climbed on the bed next to him, her hand dancing along his thigh.

“Nights like this,” he explained. “Except the three of us, with Steve, going out for dinner, midnight walks. Coming home and getting ready for bed, getting ready to hold each other, waking up next to each other.”

Chris’s smile was sweet. “You  _really_  want the three of us to live together, don’t you?”

“Yes!”

She laughed at his exuberant answer.

Bucky rolled towards her, wrapping his flesh arm around her waist. “I want a life with you. Both of you. I want nights like this. Some nights we’ll have amazing three-way sex as we do and some nights, I’d be content to watch Steve sketch and you rub on your skin cream and brush your hair before you go to bed.”

“What else?” she whispered, leaning down to brush a kiss to his lips making him groan. He knew she was reading his emotions. He wanted her to. He wanted her to know he meant every word.

“Maybe a bigger place, somewhere else, with room for… I don’t know, a girl that looks like you with Stevie’s blue eyes or a boy that looks like him with my charm and athletic ability.”

Her face flushed but he didn’t sense any fear in her at that moment. He’d known he was taking a risk in even mentioning a possible family one day. He would have been lying if he’d tried to convince her that he didn’t think about it often because he did.

Gently he pulled her down to him for a kiss. “I’m in love with you,” he whispered against her lips. “I’m in love with Stevie. You two are all I need for the rest of my life.”

Chris deepened the kiss, sinking her hands into his hair. “You’re happy with us?” she asked against his lips.

“Very happy.” Bucky pulled back to gaze into her eyes and smile. “You don’t have to say anything, doll. I know you might not feel the same way… yet. There are two of us and I know things are different…”

“Yet?” Chris smirked at him although her eyes showed a deeper emotion. “You seem pretty confident.”

Bucky pushed her onto her back, moving over her still dressed. “I am. I like my odds.”

Taking her hands in his, he gently pressed them to the bed as his mouth scorched a path from her soft lips to the tender flesh behind her ear that had her writhing beneath him.

“You look so beautiful,” he whispered, his lips moving restlessly down to her shoulder, her chest. “Steve would lose his mind if he saw you laid out like this.”

Her flesh was moist and flushed pink in her excitement. Her breath huffed out above him as he nuzzled into the front of her gown to capture a nipple in his mouth.

Chris arched beneath him, her legs parting to clasp around his hips. He tightened his grip on her arms, sensing that was what she wanted and was rewarded with a desperate whine. Well, if she was going to keep making noises like that…

Collaring her wrists in his metal hand, he pressed them over her head as his flesh hand pulled the cool blue silk of the gown up her body impatiently. He really did want Steve to see it, the only reason he was being careful, and with a little coordination, he managed to pull it off her. Bucky was more pleased than he could say that she’d gone without panties.

And her bare lips were glistening. He slid his fingers through her silky folds, delighted with exactly how excited their girl was. He wanted to get his mouth on her badly, but he needed to be inside her just a little bit more. He sucked her juices from his fingers before working at the front of his slacks to pull himself free.

Chris panted above him, her eye widening when she felt the head of him sliding against her.

“Please, Bucky…”

“I’m here, doll,” he whispered, pushing into her and holding her there beneath him. The way she moved and ground against him drove him crazy, he was guessing the feeling of him being all around her and dressed while she was naked and vulnerable beneath him was working for her.

He kept his rhythm easy for long moments, just enjoying holding her there, being inside his best girl. The soft warmth of her combined with the unique scent of her and went to his head, made everything in the world disappear except for  _her_. Bucky knew he couldn’t hold it for long. She was so wet and tight around him. Gently he teased her clit with a finger, dropping open-mouthed kisses over her shoulders as she liked until she reached her first orgasm of the evening. 

Bucky pressed his knees into the mattress for a different angle, able to press harder and hit her magical spot with each thrust as she began struggling in his hold. Kissing her breathless, he tightened his hold on her just the tiniest bit as he moved inside her, making each stroke hit just right. Chris was arching, crying out a chorus of sounds that had him even harder if that were even possible.

“Give me a minute,” she pleaded after her second release.

He paused, dropping soft lusty kisses to any part of her he could reach.

“How?” Chris was struggling to catch her breath. “How are… you…”

“Super soldier?” Bucky smirked at her. “I want to treat my best girl right first. I’ll get mine.”

“Bucky, I –”

He claimed her mouth for a kiss before she could finish whatever she’d been about to say, flipping them so she was straddling his hips and he was on his back. Her beautiful gray eyes looked dazed for only a moment before she pressed her palms to the crisp fabric of his shirt and began to work herself over him just how she wanted. And Chris was putting everything she had into it, wanting to drive him as crazy as he’d made her.

Her plan worked and she knew it. Those shiny ringlets bounced around her head as she moved on him until he finally couldn’t fight her anymore. As gently as he could manage, he took hold of her hips and began thrusting up into her until the world spun away from both of them, their cries filling the cool darkness of her bedroom.

When he was able, he swung his legs over the side of the bed, undressing as she lay curled on her side, catching her breath, her heartbeat flying like a hummingbird’s.  He headed for the bathroom to ready himself for bed, returning with a warm washcloth to clean her up, tucking her under the covers now that her skin had cooled.

Chris was barely blinking up at him by the time he climbed in with her, curling himself around her on his left side. Bucky was looking forward to a solid night’s sleep, waking up with her in the morning.

He pressed a kiss into her hair, enjoying the rare moment. His mind was quiet and he was happy. The only thing that could have made it any better would have been for Steve to have been there, but he’d be back soon.

Chris’s breathing evened out into the soft cadence of sleep and he tightened his hold on her, never planning on letting her go. She was his and Steve’s.

“I love you, Chris,” he whispered into the darkness.

“Love you,” she muttered in sleep.

To Bucky, it was everything.

The light flashing on his phone had him carefully reaching over to see that he had a text from Steve. They'd be home by dinner tomorrow.

SR: Our girl looks beautiful. Thank you for sending this.

Knowing his Stevie, he'd probably make a drawing out of it.

BB: Night, Stevie. Love you.

SR: I love you too. Can't wait to get back.


	23. Chapter 23

Chris sat going over the upgrades Tony was making to the compound’s online security. Tony had given her the task of ensuring that they were solid with no vulnerabilities that he’d overlooked. It had taken her weeks, but she finally thought she’d inspected every facet and that everything was in great shape. Part of the upgraded security was to help protect her since she’d been compromised and she loved having a measure of ownership in it.

At tomorrow’s meeting, she’d give him the final report with her recommendations on how to make a couple of things even stronger. She was proud to have come up with just those two minor points. Honestly, Tony Stark _was_ a genius. She didn’t understand until now just how true that statement was.

The last of the report finally done, Bucky and Steve would be _so_ happy, she decided to order a takeout meal from the upscale Italian restaurant Bucky had taken her to a couple of nights ago and invite them to a night in. They were heading for the big mission in St. Petersburg the next morning. Why not?

When she finally made it to Steve’s apartment, he wasn’t there. That was good. They were doing last minute preparations for the mission more than likely.

There was a knock at the door which surprised her as she set out food for their dinner, wondering who’d come to call on Steve. Who _wouldn’t_ know he was getting ready for a mission?

“Agent Danforth,” FRIDAY announced above her head. “Secretary Ross is at the door and he’d like to speak with you.”

 _Fuck._ What did _he_ want?

“FRIDAY, don’t tell Secretary Ross but I’d like for you to record this conversation, audio and video, and save a copy to my work files as ‘conversation with Ross’ with date and time stamps. Would you do that for me please?”

“Absolutely,” the A.I. told her.

She hated that her hands were shaking but she straightened herself up and went to the door to open it.

“Yes?” she said with as much disdain as she could muster.

Ross smirked down at her. “Agent Danforth,” he said smiling, his emotions were downright gleeful. “As I’m sure you’re aware, the mission in St. Petersburg deploys tomorrow.”

Chris nodded. “I am.”

“I’m going to be commissioning your help for an integral part of the mission,” he told her. “I just wanted you to be ready.”

“What do you want me to do?” Chris asked carefully. Something about the emotions bubbling beneath the surface of the man unsettled her. “What will my involvement entail?”

“We need you to shut down a vital part of their network,” Ross explained. “Without it, a good portion of HYDRA’s support will be cut off and it will help ensure the safety of our team and I know you want that.”

“Yes,” she answered with all honesty, “I do.”

“I’ll meet you in your office tomorrow morning at 8. We'll be done in plenty of time for your meeting with Stark before he leaves.”

He started to walk off, but Chris stopped him. Speaking of Tony...

“Does Mr. Stark know about this?” Chris asked. “He’s who I answer to.”

“I really don’t give a damn,” Ross told her. “He answers to _me_ which means you answer to _me_. 8 o’clock sharp tomorrow, Danforth.”

Something felt off. Chris just couldn’t put her finger on what.

Closing the door, she glanced at the ceiling and tried to fight back tears. “FRIDAY, stop the recording please.”

“It’s done, Agent Danforth.”

Grabbing her phone from Steve’s coffee table, she started to text Tony.

 

Chris: Tony, you know about Ross’s plans for me in this mission, right? I’m sure you do. I just want to double check.

 

Certain that she’d hear from him soon, she tried to put all of it out of her mind and focus on giving her guys a really nice evening.

It was only a couple of minutes later that Steve entered his apartment, Bucky on his heels.

“Steve, something’s not right,” Bucky said before he noticed she was moving around in the kitchen and broke out into a grin, running his flesh hand through his hair.

“Hey, doll,” he said heading her way. “Didn’t expect to see you here.”

Chris smiled up at him when he reached her, basking in the passionate kiss he treated her to.

“I thought I’d surprise you,” she told them, leaning up to kiss Steve when he reached them. “I hope that’s okay.”

Sure, they had a rule about weeknights which they’d all broken a few times each. Chris also knew that here and there, they had nights for just the two of them and she understood that and wasn’t jealous. Not anymore.

The look they cut each other held a lot of guilt. She laughed, feeling them out. “I _did_ interrupt something. I’m sorry. I got us dinner. How about we all enjoy that, and then I’ll take off and you can do what you were going to do.”

Steve was a shade of red she’d never seen him achieve in the gym.

“Steve, it’s okay,” she told him, smoothing her hands up the sweaty front of his t-shirt. “I get extra time with each of you when the other is sent on a mission solo. Shouldn’t you guys get time to yourselves? It’s not your fault I can’t leave the compound and go on missions.”

“ _That_ made it better.” Steve dropped his head. “I’m so sorry, sweetheart. The last thing we’d ever want is for you to feel left out. I promise. I—”

“Steve,” Chris pressed her fingertips to his mouth to silence him as she felt Bucky wrap his arms around her waist from behind. “I _understand_.” His expression grew even more concerned. “Steve, I mean it. I’m doing better at understanding. Yeah, I’m still afraid you’ll both come to your senses one day and kick me out. But until you actually do it…”

A pair of soft lips teased the tender flesh below her ear. “Chris, that’s _never_ going to happen. Your place is right _here_. Between Stevie and me.”

“Except when you need guy time,” Chris shrugged out of his hold and went to finish laying out food. “And that’s okay too. Go shower up and then we’ll eat.”

The two of them exchanged a look and headed for the bathroom. “We’re not done talking about this, doll,” Bucky told her.

“Okay,” she called, trying to keep her tone upbeat.

Inside, her emotions were rioting. She had no idea what the hell was up with Ross and what he wanted with her. Tony hadn’t answered her text. And now she’d upended Steve and Bucky’s date night before the mission. Chris glanced around her at the Italian dishes all around her and seriously contemplated putting together a plate for herself, leaving a note, and going to hide in the safety of her own apartment so they could have the night they planned, and she could have her pending panic attack in private and not worry them with it.

The note was left on the coffee table and she’d just finished her plate. Chris was about three feet from the door when Bucky sprinted out of Steve’s bedroom in a fresh t-shirt and sweats, easily beating her to it. He pressed his flesh hand to the door above her head, staring down at her with a storm of emotions playing across his face.

“No, you don’t,” Bucky said in a mildly warning tone.

Steve had made it into the living room and picked up her note before his gaze met Bucky’s, shaking his head. “Sweetheart, we feel terrible enough. Were you really just going to sneak out?”

Chris’s shoulders slumped, her emotions too close to the surface. It wasn’t all because of them.  She had to get a hold of herself or they would just blame themselves. She didn’t want the night to get worse.

“I wasn’t sneaking out,” Chris tried for a playful tone but missed it by a mile. “I left a note.”

Bucky snatched her plate out of her hands, handing it off to Steve as he reached them before dropping a shoulder and throwing her over it just as he had the first night they’d all been together. Chris’s world spun as he strutted into the bedroom and dumped her across Steve’s bed.

Bucky planted a hand on either side of her head as he loomed over her. “Now, let’s talk,” he said gently. “Why were you trying to sneak out?”

Tears stung the backs of her eyes and she blinked up at him, trying to get control of herself and failing. “If I left a note, I wasn’t sneaking out,” she argued weakly.

Steve stretched out next to her and she watched the panic take over his expression when he noticed the tears spilling from her eyes. “Sweetheart, no,” he brushed away one with his thumb. “We don’t want you to leave. Ever.”

Bucky scooped her up and planted her in his lap before she even realized it. His flesh hand was gentle as it smoothed over her back. The fingers of his metal hand tipped up her chin as he looked at Steve and said, “We need to talk about this.”

Steve sat next to them, reaching across to run his fingers through Chris’s hair, his strong fingers felt so good.

“I’m sick of this entire arrangement,” Bucky told them with no hesitation. “I don’t sleep well without either of you next to me. Everyone knows we’re a trio or triad or whatever they’re calling it these days, so I don’t want to fucking hear the entire ‘respectability’ argument from either of you _ever_ again. And if we just went ahead and all moved in together, we wouldn’t be _here_ right now.”

Steve’s expression was a study in guilt. Yes, Bucky had made the first two arguments many times before and now? That was just a misunderstanding that she’d inadvertently caused.

“Bucky,” Chris said, trying to keep her voice steady. “I had a bad day anyway. I’m not upset at you or Steve. I promise. I’m thinking I need to just go crawl into bed and by the time you guys get back… all will be well.”

Bucky huffed out an irritated breath. “That's my point. You shouldn’t _have_ to go crawl into your bed in your apartment alone when you’re down, and you obviously are. You’re in a relationship with two other people for fuck’s sake. It’s times like this when you need to crawl into bed with _us_ and let us take care of you. You’ve done it for us enough. Especially _my_ ass. I’m _done_ with this. No more rules or arrangements. I want us all to live _together_.”

“It’s okay, Bucky,” Chris was feeling worse by the minute. Now she’d upset Bucky, and he deserved never to be upset about anything _ever_ again considering what he’d been through. “I’m sorry. I should –”

“He’s right,” Steve cut her off, his blue eyes serious as the focused on her and then Bucky. “Hell, Tony’s even offered to modify our three apartments into one big place for all of us. He’s offered a _few_ times. Let’s do it.”

While Chris had a couple of reservations about moving in together, she was a creature who liked her privacy from time to time, she knew she’d gotten used to having them around. She wasn’t sure she’d survive _not_ having them around, truth be told.

“Yeah?” Bucky’s face split into a wide grin, his blue eyes sparkling.

Steve’s answering grin was breathtaking. Seeing Bucky happy was one of his favorite things. “Yeah,” he said with conviction before turning his gaze to Chris.

“Sweetheart, what do you think?” Steve asked gently.

Bucky’s expression was filled with _so_ much hope as he looked to her that her heart skipped a beat.

In that moment Ross, the bureau, the mission – everything faded into the background. Did she want to move in with these two amazing men even though she had very recently been a Grinch-level loner who was super protective of her privacy?

“Yes,” she told them and meant it, brushing away tears. “Let’s do it.”

Bucky’s smile was triumphant, and he dove for Steve, claiming his mouth with his own and accidentally dumping Chris onto the floor.

“Doll, I’m sorry,” Bucky was flushed, breathless as he hauled her back up on the bed and pushed her onto her back between them. “I’m the happiest man on the planet right now.”

Grabbing Steve’s shirt above her, Bucky hauled him close for a filthy kiss that was all teeth and tongue that she had a front row seat for. Watching them make out and pull each other’s clothing off was unbelievably _hot_!

The outcome they’d arrived at? Chris could see it working. They practically lived together on the weekends anyway. Just maybe they really _did_ want to keep her. Gasping, Chris watched them paw at each other above her, not entirely aware that she’d slid her own hand into her jeans to give herself some friction as she watched.

Steve was the first to notice, placing a big hand over her abdomen. “Someone’s enjoying the show,” he told Bucky with a wink.

“I definitely am,” Chris said grinning. “I should have just asked to stay and watch tonight and that would have solved the problem.”

“No,” Bucky said forcefully, playfully. “Nuh-uh, you _both_ agreed to move in together. You’re _don’t_ get to back out now.”

Moving down her body on the bed, Bucky very efficiently pulled off her shoes and jeans. The sight of her fingers working her clit under her panties instantly grabbed the attention of both men.

“With us all living together, I _do_ get to watch, right?” Chris wanted to make sure and tease him at the same time.

“Oh, you’ll get to watch sometimes,” Bucky explained, “when you’re not participating for whatever reason. And right now, I’m thinking I want you to participate, doll.”

Pulling her hand out of her panties, Bucky sucked her fingers into his mouth and moaned at the taste in a way that had her insides trembling. On the other side, Steve’s eyes darkened, and he licked his lips before leaning down to seal his mouth over hers in a kiss as dirty as the one he’d shared with Bucky.

“I think that’s a _great_ idea, Buck,” Steve told him, his hand gliding down her thigh to her knee and then back up until his fingers slid into her panties. One strong finger slid into the incredible wetness that had gathered between her thighs, smoothing back to her other entrance and reminding her of what they’d talked about a few days ago.

 _Oh._ The day was definitely getting better now.

“Look at you,” Bucky said, pulling her hand from his mouth and studying her. Thoughts of what Steve had promised her had her faced warming and she didn’t want to know what color she was at the moment. “What are _you_ thinking about, doll baby?”

When Steve pulled her panties off and tossed them over the side, Bucky’s eyes darted after the movements. Steve shifted to settle himself between her thighs, pulling them onto his broad shoulders before burying his face in her heated, wet flesh and going to town.

Chris writhed, gasping and moaning under his ministrations as Bucky worked at pulling off her sweater and bra. Bucky stole kisses from her lips while Steve devastated her with his mouth and fingers. He switched between sucking gently on her clit and lashing it with his tongue while two strong fingers found and petted her g-spot inside, driving her wild.

Bucky pressed her wrists into the bed, slowly kissing her, absorbing her moans into his mouth.

“I love the sounds you’re making, doll baby,” Bucky said against her lips. “What’s he doing down there?”

The orgasm slammed into her at that point and Bucky watched as she thrashed beneath them, crying out into the room. Steve, however, wasn’t letting up. All at once he stopped what he was doing, darting to the bedside table on his side of the bed and pulling out a small tube.

Bucky’s eyes widened as he watched Steve return to his place between her thighs, using the lube on his fingers quickly.

“What’s this?” Bucky asked, still pressing Chris under him but talking to Steve. “Whatever you’re doing is giving me some terrible ideas.”

Steve licked at her folds more as one finger teased that untried ring of flesh, testing it.

“You’re not the only one getting what he wants tonight,” Steve told him with a wink, gently pushing the finger into her. “Relax, Sweetheart.”

Bucky’s dark brows shot up, his grin wicked. “Did I miss a conversation?”

“Maybe,” Steve said breathlessly as he gently slid just the tip of his finger in and out of her ass. “I told Chris what I want and turns out she wants the same thing. She was just afraid I’d say no.”

Bucky’s attention turned back to Chris. “Is that right, doll baby?” His lips scorched a path across her cheek to her ear. “You want to take both of us? I’ve wanted that too… but just the thought of it drives our Stevie wild.”

Chris just knew from that Bucky had used the thought to his advantage with Steve from the way he said that.

Steve’s mouth was back on her as he worked to open up her untried entrance. Chris writhed beneath them, adjusting to the feeling of Steve’s finger pushing further into her.

“You ever tried anal before?” Bucky asked gently.

Chris managed to shake her head, gasping at Steve’s careful ministrations.

Bucky teased her jaw, the delicate flesh of her throat with his talented mouth as Steve continued to devastate her.

“Does Stevie know that?”

Chris nodded, crying out when Steve added more lube, a second finger entering her so carefully.

“You hear that, Stevie?” Bucky said teasing her with his plush mouth. “You’ll be her first. I bet it will feel amazing. I know I can’t wait to take you there, doll.”

“He said… we had to wait…” Chris was really struggling to speak between the two of them, “for you…”

Bucky leaned back to smile at her. “I’m the luckiest man in the world today. I get you two in my bed every night. I’ll get to enjoy how it feels with me and Stevie both buried in your beautiful body at the same time…”

When his mouth moved down to her breast, Chris was desperately fighting off her second release. Steve was gently working two fingers into her and they’d pushed in deeply. While the feeling was strange, it felt good. _So_ good.

By the time Steve had a third finger inside her, Chris thought she was going lose her mind. Somehow, she was able to fight off her release, barely, when all at once it stopped and Steve’s fingers were gone.

“Steve?” Chris whined as Bucky soothed her.

“We’ve got you,” Bucky whispered easing back from her and pulling off his shirt and sweats. As usual, he wore nothing underneath.

Chris dove forward to get her mouth on Bucky. They had her so worked up. Both his flesh and metal hands lightly clutched in her hair as she swallowed him down, going to town on his cock that had to be aching from just watching the last few moments.

“Lie on your back,” Steve ordered Bucky, a firm hand on his shoulder.

“You heard the man,” Bucky gently eased Chris off him and moved to the middle of the bed to stretch himself out as his best guy wanted.

Steve had lost his clothes at some point, lifting Chris easily to sit her atop Bucky, her slim thighs straddling his hips. Steve stayed right there crowding behind her, one arm wrapped gently around her, the other guiding Bucky up into her aching, wet passage.

Between Steve’s lips teasing the back of her neck and the sensitive skin of her throat and the feeling of Bucky’s hard length stretching her open, Chris was already on the edge. Bucky’s hands rose to gently hold her breasts, his thumbs a gentle tease over nipples so tight they ached. Just the thought of what they were about to do made her a trembling mess.

When Bucky was buried and moving within her warmth, Chris felt Steve’s arm tighten around her. First one of his fingers teased her other entrance, sliding in easily with more lube. She felt him shuffling behind her as he applied more to himself, her entire body trembling in anticipation.

“Please tell me you’re not afraid,” Steve whispered in her ear.

“I’m excited,” she assured him, looking down into Bucky’s smoldering eyes. Bucky was definitely excited.

When Steve began to push into her and Chris sucked in her breath.

“Relax, Sweetheart,” Steve whispered behind her, pressing kisses to her shoulders.

Chris tried, the burn as Steve slowly began to push into her took her breath away.

“Buck?” Steve sounded as breathless as she felt.

Gently, Bucky pulled her down to him until her breasts brushed his chest and his mouth could claim hers. Bucky dazzled her with seductive kisses, distracting her so Steve could continue to move into her, making her feel impossibly full. When Steve had fully pushed into her, his groan behind her nearly had her coming then.

Her nails clawed at Steve’s thigh, Bucky’s chest. “Oh, please, Bucky, Steve, you’ve got to move… Please.”

Steve’s large hands were a warm whisper against the skin of her back and hips as he gently began to move within her, drawing a deep groan from Bucky beneath her.

“Oh, doll baby,” Bucky whispered. “You feel like heaven around us.”

When he began to move too, Steve gasped. “I can feel you, Buck.”

Bucky’s metal hand came up to clasp Steve’s where it rested on her shoulder and Chris just fought to hold on. If they thought it was something to feel each other, it had to minor compared to how it felt to be joined to them both, cradled between two super strong bodies. They were so careful with her in how they moved, eventually synchronizing their movements so that when one slid in the other slid out.

They pressed hot kisses to every part of her they could reach as they whispered to her how beautiful she was to them, how much they loved the way she brought them all together as one. Chris came harder than she ever had not too long after they’d established a rhythm, losing the world for a few moments. When she drifted back, she found they’d slowed down but they hadn’t stopped, still hard inside her.

Chris felt so full that their movements had the slightest edge of pain, but she loved it. They stole kisses from her lips, from each other, as they filled her as she’d never been filled before and stayed with her as she began to fall apart around them.

“I’m… “ Chris was barely able to speak. “Oh, I’m gonna…”

“I’m close too, Sweetheart,” Steve’s hold on her tightened. She could feel the pounding of his heart at her back. “I want you to come… I’ll come with you…I want to feel you.”

Bucky’s thrusts gained in speed and strength as he cried out and let go beneath her which set her off. Chris thought she heard cries in the background, dimly realizing that it was her, as she clamped around both of them in her release. The world spun away and she was barely aware of Steve finding his own end, shouting behind her.

All she knew was that they ended up in a tangle on the bed, one on each side of her.  Each of them struggled to breathe. Chris burrowed as much as she could in bed, exhausted enough to close her eyes. Oh, was she ready to go to sleep now.

She was sort of aware of them kissing, talking over her. A warm pair of lips pressed to her shoulder.

“Doll baby?” It was Bucky. “Can’t go to sleep yet. Dinner, remember?”

“Not hungry,” Chris grumbled. “Sleep.”

Steve curled around her from behind and the warmth of him was so nice. “Are you okay? We… we didn’t hurt you, did we?”

Chris hoped they could tell she was shaking her head. “Don’t know how I’m going to walk to my office to meet Ross in the morning but…”

“Ross?” Bucky asked.

More whispering before she was gently pulled up from the bed and against a solid chest. The sound of running water and the gentle hum of the heater in Steve’s bathroom filled her awareness. The gentle smell of lilacs reached her senses next and Chris’s eyes slit open to see Bucky pouring in Nat’s bath oils.

“You never gave that back?” she asked Steve with a grin.

“I bought her more,” Steve admitted, pressing a kiss to her cheek. “Let’s get cleaned up.”

“I’m going to fall asleep in the tub,” Chris warned with a chuckle.

“We’re not leaving you, baby,” Bucky told her as he climbed into the huge tub. Once he was seated her held out his arms for her.

Steve passed her to Bucky, so he could climb in and she enjoyed being settled against Bucky’s chest, dozing the entire time.

They spoke briefly about the mission and she napped through most of that, but she did stop and lift her head to look back at Bucky. “How long do they think you’ll be gone?” she asked.

Bucky’s expression was guarded. “Might be as long as a month,” he said gently. “But we should be able to check in once a week. Maybe video chat.”

Chris smirked. “You could make some videos for me and send them. How about that?”

“You’re rubbing off on her,” Steve playfully complained.

“I love it,” Bucky whispered giving her a squeeze.

With the efficiency of a SWAT team, they cleaned up themselves and her and somehow got her to eat with Steve fretting over her the rest of the evening until they finally all piled into bed.

“I’ll miss you,” she mumbled before sleep claimed her.

“We’ll miss _you_ ,” Bucky whispered above her.

“We’ll be back before you know it,” Steve whispered from the other side. “Always. And then we can start planning our home.”

_Our home._

On that happy note, Chris let herself drift into peaceful sleep.


	24. Chapter 24

"I really don't give a damn what you think, Director Fury," Ross informed him. "HYDRA knows we have Athena, they've set a trap for her on this mission. Agent Danforth will avoid the trap, disable their network, the team comes home. Mission accomplished. It's not difficult to understand."

He watched Nick's one good eye assessed Ross, knowing his boss didn't trust or care for the secretary at all.

"Agent Danforth knows about this?" Fury asked.

"She does, and she assures me she can use the trap against them to help us cripple the network. We'd be a fool not to try it," Ross said smugly.

"Agent Danforth was confident, was she?" Fury pressed on.

That didn't ring true. While the young woman had a quiet confidence, he'd give her that, she wasn't brash. He couldn't imagine her making such a bold statement like that, especially to Ross. It appeared to him, in his own observations, that she was intimidated by the man. The sad thing was, Ross wasn't after  _her_. He was after Captain America, wanting to punish him for going against the accords and dividing the Avengers for a time. Most everyone, over time, had come to understand the captain had his reasons.

Everyone but Ross.

"Yes," Ross said in a tone that told Fury he wouldn't hear any objections.

"What do you propose doing?" Fury told him.

"I propose nothing," Ross told him. "I'm assembling a squad who will take Danforth closer to the site. She'll take care of the network, send word to the team that the enemy's defenses are down. The team eliminates the base, one of HYDRA's largest and strongest holdings, and we're done. They come home and get ready for the next threat."

Fury wasn't buying it. He was too still, his expression set in stone behind the eye patch.

"Agent Danforth is not to leave the compound," Fury reminded him. "That's the agreement we made with the FBI. You going to go against them too?"

"At the moment, Agent Danforth is not employed by the FBI," Ross walked closer to the darker man. "Legally she is an employee of Stark Industries and a civilian. That means I can contract her help in this mission, Fury, and I will. She's the only one who can handle this particular trap. If she's successful, the team finishes the job and come right back."

"And if she's not successful?" Fury asked calmly. Too calmly.

"There's always that chance, Fury," Ross told him with a wave of his hand. "The Avengers face danger each mission. She knew the risks when she was with the bureau. We'll jump off that bridge if we come to it."

_When they come to it._

"And if I appeal? Block your attempt to take Danforth away from this compound?" Fury shot back.

"You could try. We're leaving at dawn, so I'd recommend that you act quickly," Ross told him, spinning on his heel and marching out of the room.

Ross never saw him behind the door. Fury wasn't aware that he'd listened in either.

Acting as if he were just coming to Fury's door, Phil Coulson walked in calmly, as he always did, and came to stop in front of his boss's desk.

"You asked to see me?" Phil asked.

"I did," Fury told him. "I need you to meet with Miss Potts. I need you to get the terms and conditions of Agent Danforth's contract. I need to know precisely what Ross can and can't do when it comes Agent Danforth."

"I understand," Phil told him.

And he did. The situation, in Phil's mind, was grave. Agent Christine Danforth may be a former FBI agent and current employee of Tony Stark's, but she had great potential use in the Avengers Initiative.

But to Ross, she was a pawn on the game board. And he wasn't certain what Ross's intentions were with the young woman yet. He understood that Ross had poor intentions.

To Phil, she was also the girlfriend of Steve Rogers, also known as Captain America who'd been his hero since he was a child. Oddly, she was also the girlfriend of his best friend Bucky Barnes. While Phil couldn't begin to understand that arrangement, he was open-minded. Steve Rogers had saved the world many times over. In his mind, Rogers was pretty much entitled to what he wanted. Fortunately, he didn't ask for much.

Phil had been around since the captain had been recovered from the ice. The man had been through one holy hallelujah of a learning curve in adjusting to life seventy years later. He'd lost Peggy Carter, lived with the fact that HYDRA had captured her best friend and turned him into a deadly assassin. Steve Rogers had fought all the way up to heaven and all the way down to hell for his best friend had saved and helped rehabilitate him, in ways only a true hero could.

In the last couple of years, the only thing Rogers lacked was romantic companionship. Several of them, particularly Romanov, had tried to introduce him to possible companions. None of it went very well.

And then Agent Danforth came along. At first, she'd formed an attachment with Barnes. She'd been shot on the mission and had spent the week at the compound to recover. Anyone with eyes had seen the jealousy on Rogers. He'd been attracted to her from the start. Those who knew him well, however, knew there was no chance he'd take her away from Barnes.

In time, they became a trio even though it wasn't immediately apparent that the three of them were paramours. It had taken Phil a little time to come to terms with it. He had no prejudices. It just wasn't what he expected from his childhood hero. He accepted it now. Steve Rogers, Captain America, was still and would always be his hero.

Captain America was the reason they all had a planet to still live on. Did that mean he deserved a boyfriend and a girlfriend if that was what he wanted?

Yes. Yes, it did.

But now, as he headed for the elevator to speak with Pepper Potts, he was faced with a growing problem. Ross, in all likelihood, would find a way to rip Chris out of the compound for the mission. Best case scenario, things went just as Ross said and the team finishes the job and comes home.

Worst case scenario, Danforth would be intercepted or killed because she was pulled out of the safety of the compound.

Even worse scenario, Ross had other plans entirely for Chris. What if he meant for her to die or be compromised? Wouldn't he see it as an  _advantage_  to eliminate the young woman from the lives of Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes?

Phil believed he  _would_.

What would it do to Steve Rogers to lose something  _else_  in a life that had taken so much from him even as he fought for others? It would also have a negative impact on Barnes which wasn't good for anyone.

The team had already been sent on a mission and were on the wrong side of Siberia. Not only did Rogers and Barnes likely not know about the plans surrounding their girlfriend, but they weren't there to protect her.

Phil's mind was made up by the time he reached Pepper's office. Tony's soon-to-be wife smiled at him from behind her desk and listened as Phil explained the situation. That lovely smile didn't stay long.

"Can he? Can Ross… do that?" Pepper wanted to know.

"That's what we're trying to determine," Phil told her.

Pepper reluctantly handed over the contract and Phil tuned everything around him out to study each word. By the end, he was internally screaming. There was no wording to block Ross, in his authoritative position, from taking Chris. A case against her removal from the compound could be made but Ross was nothing if not determined. He'd likely already decided on a loophole.

Returning the contract to Pepper, Phil excused himself to head back upstairs to inform Fury.

But Fury was limited in what he could do.

The plan formed in his head quickly. First, he'd tell Fury what he'd discovered and help him if requested. Then he needed to fabricate an emergency, so he could gain a few days off. He also had plans to make, credentials to produce. So much to do.

If Phil's instincts were correct, Agent Christine Danforth was in a good deal of danger all because she fell in love with Captain America and Bucky Barnes.

And because Captain America also loved  _her_ , he was going to do his damnedest to try and keep her safe and bring her back if it came to that.

 

***

 

The first day they spent long hours setting up the base on the outskirts of St. Petersburg. Under a bleak winter sky, they moved in and adjusted to the cold as they got themselves settled for the next several weeks. Steve had been told four weeks but now there were rumblings of six to seven. It was late October now. It wasn't looking like they'd be spending Thanksgiving with their girl. He just hoped they made it back for Christmas.

Tony seemed preoccupied for the next few days and with Tony, that was never a good sign. By the end of the week, Nat informed him that either she or Steve would be confronting him about it. Steve decided to volunteer. Tony was a lot less likely to get upset at Steve under pressure than he would Nat. Something about their history he supposed.

That night, Bucky had snuck into his room and they were able to give each other release quietly in a way they hadn't done since the war. While he felt a lot more relaxed as he stretched out on his cot that night, he still worried about Chris back home. He hoped that she was keeping busy so she wouldn't miss them too much. He'd been hoping they'd be able to contact her briefly over the weekend, but they were too far out of range.

When he'd gone to talk to Tony, as he'd promised Nat he would, the first warning sign that something was wrong was revealed.

"I'm fine, Cap," Tony muttered because he always said that.  _At first_. When he saw Steve was leaning in the doorway with no intention of moving, he huffed out a heavy exhale. "Steve, everything is going to be okay. Really."

Tony never just called him Steve. Something was definitely  _not_  okay.

"What do you want me to say?" Tony was getting anxious now.

"Either something could go very wrong on this mission and you're not telling me," Steve explained. "Or something is very wrong back home and it involves Chris and you're not telling me."

His heart sank when Tony's gaze met his own. "It's a little of both."

Patiently, Steve closed the door to the room filled with whirring electronics behind him, locking the door. He'd sit there all day if he had to until Tony told him what was going on.

"How so?"

Tony came to a stop right in front of him.

"Steve, I located a huge vulnerability in the network here three days before we left. I was excited because I thought just maybe if we could break in on their network we could either cut this shit show short or avoid it altogether. But…"

"But?"

"The further I explored the vulnerability I thought I'd found, the more I realized that it was a very sophisticated trap and it wasn't meant for me," Tony said soberly. "It was left by an old nemesis of Athena's. Goes by the name of Odysseus."

_Chris. They were after Chris._

"Homer, right?" Steve came up with the name.

"Yep, the Odyssey. Athena helped him at every turn after the Trojan War." Tony's gaze dropped. "Did you know that one of Athena's titles was "gray-eyed". It's something to do with olive tree leaves. Since her eyes are gray I thought that was interesting…"

Steve loved her gray eyes. No one he'd ever seen before had eyes like hers.

"Wait, she helped Odysseus?"

Tony nodded. "In Homer's story."

"But when she was with the FBI, they were enemies?" Steve was confused.

"It appears so." Tony blew out an exhale. "He has ties to HYDRA, he deals in human trafficking, but I didn't have time to do a lot more poking around."

"What did you do?" Steve wanted to know.

"I didn't give it to Chris, if that's what you're wondering," Tony said quickly, glancing back up. "I kept her busy with the compound security schematics and she did a great job actually…"

"Is that trap going to endanger our mission?"

Tony shook his head. "No, turns out it won't. It doesn't benefit us at all."

Steve waited. The part Tony didn't want to say was coming…

"Ross and his people also found it," Tony told him. "They didn't immediately realize it was a trap meant for Athena, but they did figure it all out about the time I got word to Fury. They met about the situation. Fury didn't tell me what the results of the meeting were."

Steve felt sick. He didn't know why he just had a bad feeling about it all. He trusted Fury more than he had in the past. But knowing Fury and Ross were back at the compound making decisions where their girl was concerned? He didn't like it.

"Is that all?" Steve asked quietly.

"One more thing," Tony told him, holding his friend's gaze. "Ross arranged to meet with Chris just after her meeting with me. That was right before we left for this mission."

Steve's mind ran wild with things that could mean. "You think Ross is going to try and commandeer Chris while we're here?"

"I don't know, Steve," Tony answered honestly. "I don't know what he's up to. It just left me feeling uncomfortable. Particularly with how he acted during our meeting about this mission."

Steve agreed.

"Worst case scenario," Tony told him, "she'll get stuck working with him until we get back."

Steve nodded though he very much doubted that was the worst the man could do. All he could hope was that Fury would look after her and protect her from the man who Steve didn't care for and certainly didn't trust.

 

***

 

_A week earlier…_

Chris strapped into a jet filled with S.H.I.E.L.D. agents which would have been a comfort if she'd known any of them. Maria Hill was overseeing the compound since Coulson was out dealing with a family emergency so there was no one she'd worked with before.

_It was going to be okay._

It was the mantra that had filled her head since she'd been told to suit up by Ross.

Steve and Bucky had left on their mission to Siberia that morning and that had been hard enough. The holidays were right around the corner and she didn't know if they'd even be home for them. If they did make it, planning their new living arrangements over the holidays was something her heart very much wanted now.

Then she'd met with Ross who had explained that a trap had been left for Athena on the mission by an old enemy.  _Odysseus._  If she could make her way around it, it was  _possible_  she could disable a good portion of their network. She'd get word to the Avenger team that part of HYDRA's defenses was down and it could shorten their mission in Siberia immensely. They could come home, and she'd be able to contribute. A win-win, right?

For all that she'd felt trapped in the compound, why did she feel so unsafe now? It wasn't as if she had no faith in the abilities of the men and women around her. She did. They would get her to the site in Eastern Europe and hopefully, get her back.

And Chris didn't care what trap had been set for her, she could manage it. She hadn't encountered a trap or code sequence yet she'd fallen for. Now with Steve and Bucky's lives on the line, the lives of the entire team, she had real motivation to get it done. Oh, she would.

It all just really felt off somehow. Fury had been there with Ross to see them deploy and his emotions were full of hesitancy and concern. It was very unlike the director. Ross still seemed pleased with everything in a way that confused her. Why would he be happy to help out the Avengers? Happy to be part of anything that involved her? There was something missing.

Chris would have felt so much better if either Hill or Coulson had been able to come along.

"Agent Danforth?"

Chris looked up to see an agent not a lot bigger than she was standing next to her seat. "Your comlink in place?'

Chris nodded. The agent was a young man in his early twenties she'd guess. He had friendly dark eyes and sandy blonde hair that reminded her a bit of Steve's. His emotions… Well, it was odd. She would have guessed a young agent like himself would have more bravado and eagerness. The calm of the young man was almost disarming. It was like he had the demeanor of someone much older and more mature.

"If you need anything, let me know," he told her. "Agent Santino Cole. They call me Sonny."

"Sonny Cole?" Chris asked, and he nodded. "I'll remember."

Young or not, meeting him had made her feel a bit better.

They took off not long after that and Chris had nodded off for most of the flight. Her boys had worn her out the night before, it had been amazing. When they landed, Chris tried to get herself awake and alert. She wasn't going to be able to hack anyone with a sluggish brain.

Once they were off the jet and into a formation, Chris felt a little nervous. She would have felt much better to have Steve or Bucky with her, but she had to make the most of the situation she had. Her body armor was on and secure, her briefcase ready. Chris could and would do this. For Bucky and Steve.

They hadn't walked more than a few feet away from the jet when a blast sounded from above and Chris spun around to watch in horror as the jet was blown apart before her eyes. The blast sent them all flying backward. The breath was knocked from her lungs as she realized someone had landed on her, trying to shield her.

Disoriented and struggling to breathe, Chris stared up at Agent Cole. She wanted to ask what was going on but didn't have enough wind to speak.

HYDRA soldiers came, surrounding their group and studying them closely. Her heart flew in her chest as she realized that they had been badly compromised. There was a good chance she wasn't going to make it out of this.

"There she is," a gruff voice announced.

A soldier not quite as big as her super soldiers but large and strong enough marched over, disarming her and grabbing her by the arm. He dragged her over to the soldier in charge of the unit who leaned down to look into her face. His grin was smug.

He rose against to his full height and then nodded.

"Get rid of the rest," the leader commanded.

"No!" Chris screamed.

HYDRA's soldiers fired, greatly outnumbering the ones who'd accompanied her and Chris screamed as she watched them try to fire back but eventually fall one by one as she was carried away. Scanning wildly, she looked for Agent Cole but couldn't spot him.

Agent Cole couldn't have made it. None of them would.

Real fear crept into her heart as she realized she was now a prisoner. They roughly shoved her into the back of an armored vehicle with the leader who watched her like a hawk, confiscating her case roughly. After a moment, he grabbed a walkie from his hip and spoke into it.

"Target acquired," the leader announced. "You can give Ross his money now."

Chris felt sick. Ross had  _sold_  her to the enemy? No amount of money equaled even one of the lives of the men she'd just watched get shot down next to the jet. Tears began to slide down her face.

"What's wrong, honey?" the leader said with a smirk. "You're still alive. For  _now_. You want to stay that way, cooperate. Yeah?"

"They'll come for me, you know?" Chris said quietly, not sure she'd spoken loud enough for him to hear her.

"Who? S.H.I.E.L.D.?" the leader asked, seeming amused. "I doubt that. The story is that the jet was shot down. No survivors. No one will come looking for you. You work for Odysseus now."

_Oh my God._

That was worse. They were going to tell Bucky and Steve she was dead. What would it do to them?

Her heart sank as she considered the desperation of her current situation.

She had to calm down. Chris had been trained by the FBI and she needed to remember that training. She needed to do just what the man said and cooperate. Chris would watch and listen.

She didn't care how long she had to wait. An opportunity would come along that would either allow her to escape or get word to Tony that she was alive and where she was. She just had to be patient.

And stay alive.

 

***

 

The third week of the mission in Siberia, Steve had everything in place for the first strike they'd planned against the HYDRA stronghold. He'd asked for clearance to proceed but had been told to hold by Fury with no reason given. He shouldn't have been too surprised when Ross showed up unexpectedly.

"Ross," Tony greeted him with undisguised disdain. "What are you doing here?"

"Just came to make sure things are on schedule," Ross told him and Steve meaningfully. "We really need to take out this base."

Steve rolled his eyes. As if none of them understood that.

"All is on schedule, chief," Tony told him without looking away from the screen he manipulated in front of him. "So if you'll excuse us…"

"It had better be on schedule, Stark," Ross growled at him. "The first part of this mission failed already and we're lucky that failure didn't compromise our arena here."

Steve narrowed his eyes at the man. "What failure?"

Ross turned to face him, his expression changing. "You didn't hear?"

"Hear what?" Steve wanted to know, already afraid of what he'd learn.

"An envoy was sent out to try to take down their network, just over two weeks ago," Ross said slowly. "They shot our jet out of the sky. We lost a lot of valuable men and women on that flight."

Steve lunged forward, grabbing Ross by the front of his tactical suit. Fear had his heart threatening to beat out of his chest.

"Who was on that mission, Ross?" Steve growled. For once, Tony didn't try to stop him. "Who?"

Ross tried to pry Steve's hands off him weakly, blinking several times before looking honestly contrite.

"Rogers, I'm sorry… "the bravado was gone from Ross's voice. "I thought Fury had gotten word to you."

"What word?" Steve spoke slowly, fighting the urge to snap the man's neck in his hands if the wrong words come out of his mouth.

"Let go, Rogers," Ross said finally.

Tony placed a calming hand on Steve's shoulder and slowly, he released the secretary. Steve's hands were shaking.

"Rogers, I'm sorry but… we sent an envoy to Prague because we'd found a vulnerability in their network. We  _thought_. It ended up being a trap set for Agent Danforth. We sent her with a large group of highly-trained agents to the site but… the jet was shot out of the air. I'm sorry, Rogers. No one survived."

"Fuck!" Tony muttered, grabbing Steve and trying to pull him away from Ross, to keep him from killing him.

"Get out! Now!" Tony yelled at Ross who just managed to step back from Steve at the last moment and scrambled from the room.

Steve slammed his fists down on the table in front of him, yelling in range. Tony still had his arms wrapped around his friend, holding him gently and trying to calm him.

"Steve, take it easy," Tony whispered.

When the shaking started, Tony held on tighter. "He killed her," Steve's voice broke. "He  _killed_  her. What… what are we going to do? Bucky…"

"We don't know that yet," Tony told him. "I don't trust Ross any further than Chris can throw him. Something isn't right here, Cap. I don't buy it."

Tony hated the hope that flashed in Steve's blue eyes when he wheeled around and turned that pain-filled gaze on him. If he was wrong, he'd just made this so much worse. Tony knew that. But something hadn't felt right about the entire story from the beginning.

When they heard from Fury that Chris had been killed… maybe he'd believe it.

Steve finally crumbled, and Tony held on to him, trying to get him calmed. The last thing they needed was for Steve's head to be out of the game for this particular mission and it almost certainly was now.

"Bucky," Steve whispered finally. "Don't say anything to him. Okay?"

Steve pulled back and Tony nodded.

"We'll watch and listen, Cap," Tony told him. "We'll find out what's really going on."

Tony hoped he was right. Even  _if_  Chris were still alive somewhere, the fact that Ross was announcing her death probably meant that her situation wasn't good. Well, shit.


	25. Chapter 25

"Steve?"

Steve blew out a heavy sigh as he watched his lover quietly enter his room.

"Steve?" Bucky's expression was filled with concern, his gaze moving over him where he sat at the foot of the bed, still in uniform, covered with three days of blood and dirt. Bucky looked as filthy and weary as he did, taking a knee in front of him. "What's wrong, baby? Talk to me. Something's been eating at you for days now."

He'd been able to avoid the conversation for the last four days only because of the mission. He'd been grateful for it actually. They'd gotten a tip that their enemy had begun migrating from the base they'd targeted. Somehow, they'd discovered the Avengers were in the area and they'd had to expedite their plans.

Taking the base down had been one of the roughest challenges Steve and Bucky had ever faced and they'd lost several agents in the process. Sam was in critical condition after being blown out of the sky with skull fractures and a deep chest wound. Young Peter had been severely injured too. All of them had been through hell in decimating the HYDRA base and Steve couldn't even feel satisfied with it because…

He couldn't avoid the conversation anymore. Bucky could read him better than anyone.

"Steve?" Bucky placed his flesh hand on Steve's thigh gently. "Talk to me. Please?"

It was a long moment before Steve managed to raise his gaze to his lover's face. He was already blinking back tears just thinking about it.

Bucky raked his metal hand through his dirty hair, something he often did when he was nervous.

"Steve is it… Is it…" The fear was growing in Bucky's beautiful eyes. "Chris?"

When Steve dropped his head, Bucky's hand tightened painfully on his thigh.

"Steve, what is it? She's okay, right? She's waiting… back at the compound for us, right?"

"I don't know," Steve muttered, tears finally escaping his eyes to run down his face.

Harder than he probably wanted to, Bucky's metal hand gripped Steve's chin, pulling it up and making him look at him.

"Where is she?" Bucky demanded, his control slipping. "Tell me."

The tears kept running from his eyes as he struggled for the words to tell the man he loved that…

"Ross," Steve bit out. "He…"

"Ross?" Bucky's agitation was growing. "What about Ross? Did he… did he do something to her?"

"Sent her on an envoy to Prague," Steve said slowly, "with several agents to try and… disable the network…"

"Of the base we just took?"

Steve nodded. "Tony doesn't believe him but… "

"What did he  _do_ , Steve?" Bucky's voice was breaking.

 _If something_ has _happened to her, it will kill him._

"Ross said their jet was… shot out of the air."

Bucky's head dropped. His exhale was a shaky, broken sound.

"He said… there were no survivors."

"Steve," Bucky whispered, glancing up to reveal the tears gathering in his eyes. "It's not true, right? She's not… "

"I don't know, Buck," Steve's heart throbbed painfully as he watched the same torment he'd lived with since Ross told him take hold of Bucky. "We haven't heard from anyone else that it's true but…"

"We gotta fucking find out." Bucky dragged a hand down his face, brushing away tears as he climbed to his feet. "She can't be… Steve, God, she can't be gone. She can't…"

Steve rose to his feet, feeling more exhausted than he had in his entire life, and pulled Bucky against him. At first, Bucky was resistant against him. After a moment, he relaxed against him, shaking in his arms as the tears flowed freely.

"Steve, she…" Bucky tucked his face against Steve's chest. "I love her. She's ours, Steve. She can't…"

"Shhh," Steve held him, running a hand through his hair as they shared their pain. "Maybe Tony's right. Maybe…"

It was a lot to hope. How many times had the hoped for the best only to get the very worst?

After several long moments, Steve drug Bucky into his bathroom and they shared a shower. They'd dried each other off and Bucky climbed into Steve's bed, Steve curling around him as he joined him. They were both so tired that any other time they'd have dropped off to sleep instantly.

As it was, one of their greatest fears lingered in the realm of possibility, Steve knew sleep would evade him until they had an answer, or his body gave in to exhaustion.

"She  _just_  agreed to move in with us," Bucky said sadly in the darkness of the room, his head on Steve's chest. "That's still… gonna happen, right?"

Steve nodded, not trusting his own voice because he would choke on the tears he was fighting back.

Steve reached over to his bedside table and grabbed his phone from where he'd left it to charge. With his fears preying on his mind, he'd forgotten to check the device now that he could get coverage again. He held Bucky to him as he navigated the device with his right hand.

It wasn't the unknown number that he'd received the text from that had gotten his attention. It was the cryptic message.

_I'm with her. Just wish we had Monopoly or some playing cards. Even trading cards._

Steve jerked up in bed, dislodging Bucky and reaching to turn the lamp on in short order.

"Oh my God," Steve whispered, reading the message over and over again.

Bucky's blue eyes filled with hope and terror. "What?"

Steve showed him the message. When he watched the fear drain from Bucky's face, he knew he'd drawn the same conclusion he had.

"Thank, Jesus," Bucky muttered. "Who is  _that_  from?"

Steve was still just trying to wrap his mind around the message itself.  _I'm with her._ Not only did someone else know what happened, but they were also with her. She was  _alive_.

_Just wish we had Monopoly or some playing cards._

The request for Monopoly or playing cards? That was old. Thanks to the Geneva Convention, assembled in the aftermath of World War II, prisoners or war were allowed packages from their families or relief organizations. Steve had read everything he could on the end of the war and everything that had happened after he'd gone into the ice. He'd been fascinated by the methods used to help prisoners escape on both sides. Monopoly games had been used to smuggle prisoners things like maps, money, and passports so they could make their escape. Maps had been concealed in playing cards for the same reason.

The party that had sent him the message was with her and looking to be rescued. But who was it?

The last part of the message?

_Even trading cards._

Steve knew one man who might make that reference. In a flash he was on his feet, pulling on jeans and a shirt while Bucky scrambled to do the same. He didn't even ask where they were going, just followed Steve out of the room and down several doors.

Steve had only begun to pound on the door when it jerked open to reveal a very tired Tony Stark. Holding up his phone, he watched Tony quickly take in the message. Tony's face split into a wide grin.

"Coulson is  _missing_ ," Tony explained. "It's got to be him."

Bucky's eyes were wide on Steve. "Agent Coulson? You think it's him? He's with her?"

Tony nodded while Steve knew a moment's relief. He didn't know how or why Coulson was with their girl, he was just  _so_ grateful that he  _was_. Steve sent up a prayer of thanks for it. With Coulson, they had a chance of getting her back.

Tony glanced around them before motioning them into his room. "What I want to know is what really happened? Ross wants us to believe they blew her jet out of the sky and that she's dead. What did he  _really_  do with Chris?"

"I'm going to  _really_  fucking kill him," Bucky growled. "I promise you that."

"Let's get her back," Tony told him. "Then I'll  _help_  you fucking kill him."

Tony paced before them for a moment, thinking out loud. "I'll put Pepper on it, see if there's any chatter out there. In the meantime, you two need to get back to the states - without alerting Ross."

Steve nodded, agreeing with that plan.

"Then we've  _got_  to find her," Tony mused, his expression grim.

Bucky blew out an exhale, casting his gaze down at the floor.

"Most likely, she's someone's captive," Bucky told them with a certainty that filled Steve with dread. "Ross likely sold her off to one of Athena's enemies. Someone who would pay top dollar to stop her… or to use her abilities."

Tony stopped pacing again, nodding. "Yep. And Chris used  _against_  us is a dangerous thing."

"Not to mention what that will do to her psychologically," Steve added, unable to get his mind off their girl in a cell somewhere, scared and feeling threatened. That Agent Coulson was there made him feel slightly better. Still, he wanted her back, with him and Bucky where she belonged.

"Tony, honestly," Steve was thinking out loud, "a lot of technology is over my head, so I don't know the answer to this. How much of a threat is Chris to us?"

Bucky stopped and waited for the answer to that.

Tony stopped moving them, paused his pacing. "The only thing that would be worse, Cap, is if they had  _me_. And she's grown her skills in her time with us at the compound. They can use your girl to start wars, to take out nations, to take down any network in the world. She might just prove to be the worst nightmare we've faced yet."

Rage took over Bucky's expression at that. "I've been used as a weapon. I'm not letting them do that to  _her_. How do we find her, Stark? Surely you'd know her coding if you saw it?"

Tony seemed to consider that. "It depends. If they use her, they'll make damn sure that she doesn't drop any clues."

"What about that kid?" Steve asked. "The one the FBI sent with her on the Australian mission."

Tony's hazel eyes widened on Steve. "Fred Jennings. That's not a bad idea, Cap. I'll see if Crenshaw would be willing to let him help us."

"Does the bureau know about Chris?" Steve wanted to know.

Tony nodded. "Before we left for this mission, I got in touch with Crenshaw, got the bureau involved in trying to help us find her."

Steve nodded, grateful for that.

"Now, off with the two of you. I'll arrange a jet to take you to a place I've got in Florida," Tony explained. "You can operate from there and be ready to go at any time if we get a lead."

"What about Ross?" Steve wanted to fly under the radar until they had a better grasp of the situation.

"I'll keep us tied up here for another week," Tony assured him. "I know that's not a lot of time but it's something."

Steve nodded. It was actually better than he'd expected. They headed back for their rooms to pack up and to get on the jet to Florida. With any luck, someone would figure out where their girl was. Or Coulson would provide them with another clue. He just hoped Coulson would be able to keep her safe.

 

***

 

Chris lay curled on the small cot in her cell, grateful that the weather was warm wherever they were. She had a pair of old pajamas that were way too big to sleep in, a cot, a sink, and a bucket for a toilet in the tiny cell where they kept her since she'd arrived.

When the sun came up each day, an older woman who spoke fluent Spanish brought her breakfast. Usually, it was a dry piece of toast, a plain egg over easy and a cup of water. Chris always said thank you, one of the few Spanish terms she knew. The woman tried not to talk to her but from what little she'd said, Chris  _thought_  her accent was Argentine. Was she in Argentina?

There guards that went by her cell several times a day. She had only a small barred window on the door to see anything outside the cell. No one came back to see her until after sundown and that's where Chris was losing her mind. Nothing to do but change into her clothes for the day, and they hadn't been washed in almost three weeks, staring at the walls or sleeping. No devices, no books, no television. It really made one think about where they were as a society that they didn't know what to do without technology.

The same woman came at night, bringing a towel that she used to cover the bucket she removed, leaving a clean bucket. She also brought another paper plate and cup with water and her dinner, usually a salad or some type of wrap. It wasn't much but Chris didn't eat much anyway. She wasn't starving.

Chris thought about Bucky and Steve a lot and oh, how she missed them. Her heart sank to think about that. They'd been told she was dead. They wouldn't just believe that, would they? Would they come to find her? To bring her home?

Or were all her old fears correct after all? Would they move on without her? Or worse, find someone else?

She cried a lot and tears came on now just thinking about it all. She was so lost in thought, she didn't immediately realize that someone was opening the door. The light in her room was out, she  _did_  have a light switch, and her heart pounded furiously in fear as she watched the door open slowly and a man walked in.

Chris scrambled on her cot, making herself small in the corner against the wall.

"Agent Danforth?" he whispered.

She knew that voice. "Yes?"

"It's me." He moved closer to her cot but slowly, kneeling by its side and keeping his distance. "Agent Cole."

Her heart knew a moment of happiness. He'd survived! She wasn't alone.

"Have to be quick, quiet," he whispered. "I'm trying to reach help."

"Thank you." She reached out to put a hand on his, getting the strangest feeling when she did. Again, there was something about him that didn't quite fit. Still, she wouldn't question it now. He was all she had and if he could reach the compound or Bucky and Steve…?

"Tomorrow,  _he_  arrives," Cole said almost too quietly.

"Who?"

"Odysseus," he said.

 _Oh, God._ The moment she'd been dreading. Her old enemy had been somewhere else, and Chris had been relieved, hoping she could find a way out before having to meet him. It didn't appear that she was going to be that lucky.

"How much do you know about him?" Cole asked.

"He's into human trafficking, drugs, and he runs a huge ring of cyber thieves," she told him.

"Correct," Cole told her. "Play along when you meet him and watch what you say. In person, he's volatile. Rely on your empathic abilities."

Her empathic abilities? How did Cole know about  _that_?

Chris nodded.

"I'll come by again when I can," he told her. "Just wanted you to know you're not alone. I'm going to get you out of here."

Chris blinked back tears. "Thank you."

Cole nodded before quietly rising and heading back out of her cell as quickly as he came.

Hope stirred in her heart and it was the best gift she could have received. Just maybe she'd live to go back to the compound and see her boys again. She missed sleeping between them even though it was like being sandwiched by two furnaces sometimes. She missed having Bucky wrapped all around her, the way Steve would give orders in his sleep. She missed two pairs of beautiful blue eyes… Chris's heart ached for them, realizing all her petty worries were just that.

Chris smiled through her tears in the darkness. If she were lucky enough to make it back to them, she'd never let them go.

 

***

 

The next morning, she'd just finished her breakfast and she'd made sure she was dressed before that, when two guards, neither of them Cole, came for her. Roughly they grabbed her arms and hauled her out of the cell and down several dingy corridors lined with other cells. Chris didn't fight them. She just tried to keep up. Finally, they walked out of the building where she'd been kept and she was taken across the property to what looked like a beautiful mansion. When she looked back, Chris saw the foliage hid the building with her cell very well.

They entered the mansion through a back passage and she took in the rich opulence of her surroundings as they dragged her through a few nicer hallways until they reached what looked like an enormous living room. There were furnishings and a widescreen that was pretty much a small movie theatre screen. To the right was an entire wall of computer screens and equipment that all looked pretty familiar to her.

When she looked left, she saw a man sitting in a plush chair watching her. His eyes were small, brown and mean. His dark hair was shot through with gray and thinning. His leer as he gazed up and down her form was unsettling. Then he licked his lips as his gaze met with hers.

"This?" Odysseus began, "is the famous Athena?"

The guards said nothing. Chris didn't know what to say either, so she just nodded mutely.

It looked like it took some effort, but he hauled his huge body out of the chair. He was as tall as Steve and Bucky. His gut was enormous, really sticking out. Chris would have considered trying to evade him and make a go at escaping except that he had a piece on each hip. They both looked to be .45 caliber.

Odysseus came to a stop right in front of her, grabbing her chin painfully in his pudgy fingers. He'd hauled her face up for her inspection and Chris avoided making eye contact with him.

"You stink," he told her. "My people have not cleaned you?"

Chris shook her head. His English was heavily accented with what she was now certain was an Argentinian accent.

"Yes," he muttered to himself. "I think cleaned up you will be better. I didn't expect Athena to be… attractive."

Chris tried to tamp down her escalating fear.

"Do you fucking talk?" Odysseus raged, slapping her face hard the moment he released her chin.

Her eyes watered from the sting but still, she held on to her composure. "Yes, I speak."

Odysseus punched her in the midsection hard, doubling Chris over in pain and surprise. Chris retreated but he lumbered towards her, kicking her hard in the thigh once, twice and again until she rolled onto her side. Pain bloomed in her ribs, hip, and leg from the kicks and she scrambled across the carpet away from him as he kept coming.

She cried out as he grabbed a handful of her hair painfully and hauled her up enough to punch her repeatedly in the face. Chris was able to block a couple of the blows, but it just pissed him off and he started hitting harder. It wasn't until she curled up into a ball on the floor that it stopped, and she heard the rasp of his labored breathing above her.

"This? This is just the beginning," Odysseus informed her. "You have no idea how much you've cost me, little American bitch. You ruined three of my proteges, led your FBI to them."

Another kick that connected with her back and stole her breath for a moment.

"I paid even more to bring you here," he informed her. "You  _will_  help me get my proteges back. You will use your talents to make  _me_  money."

Tears flowed freely from her eyes, one was swelling shut, as again he grabbed her by the hair and hauled her head up, forcing her to look at him. "I'm going to be repaid for everything in  _every_  way you can possibly repay me."

Chris didn't miss his meaning as his hard eyes moved down over her slight form.

"I'm not going to fuck you while you're smelling and bleeding like a pig," he told her. "Take her back. Tell them to clean her up. I'll be sending for her when I get back from the island next week."

When the guards grabbed her arms and pulled her out of the floor, every part of her hurt. The trip out of the mansion and back to the building with the cells was torture and the two guards weren't gentle with her. Not far from her cell, they passed another pair of guards. Cole's eyes were wide as he took in the state of her.

When they reached her cell, they roughly threw her in. Chris sprawled across the cool tile floor, seeing her own blood smearing across it. She just stayed down. Then the sobs ripped from her body, raw, painful sounds that she knew they had to be able to hear outside of her cell. She couldn't bring herself to care.

Hope was a fragile thing she barely had a memory of. Still, before darkness took her, she found herself thinking of their faces, their smiles.

_Please let Cole be able to reach them so they can get us out of here._

Chris would have given anything to just hold either Steve's or Bucky's hand in that moment.


	26. Chapter 26

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a bit dark and involves some loss. If you're sensitive to such subjects, just wanted you to know...

Before dawn the next morning, soldiers came back into her cell, jerking her roughly up from the bed as she cried out from her injuries. Immediately, she saw one of the guards was Cole who was handling her as carefully as he could and retain his disguise. Just having him there, helped her fight off the fear that was about to claim her.

Chris went along, leaning on the concealed S.H.I.E.L.D. agent when she faltered which was a few times. Her entire body was wracked with pain and her left eye was swollen completely shut. Her upper lip was split, she'd felt that with her hands. At least they washed the blood away. The woman who fed her along with another woman she'd not seen before and a guard escorted her to a shower where they'd stripped her and cleaned her under the mostly warm water and dressed her into new to her pajamas that were old and too big. She'd hurt so badly, she didn't care who saw her body during that.

When they reached the end of the torturously long walk to end up back in Odysseus' living room, Chris cowered from him when he approached her. The bastard chuckled at that.

"That's good," he said, smirking. "You already fear me."

Chris dropped her head, praying he wasn't planning on a second round of beating her.

"Before I head to my island, I need you to help me," Odysseus told her. Grabbing her by the back on her neck in the enormous pajama shirt, he shoved her towards the wall of electronic screens until she was staring at a screen of code, trying to focus on it with just one eye. "What do you think of that, Athena?"

Chris's heart pounded painfully in her chest as she slowly scanned the code.

"I was told the world believed you dead, Athena. If that's true, then  _why_  are your friends looking for you?" Odysseus demanded. "Huh?"

His grip was painful on her neck. Chris was afraid to speak. Afraid not to speak. He had to know that it wasn't  _her_. She'd been in a fucking, electronic-free cell for over two weeks.

Then it occurred to her.  _What friends?_  Her heart clenched in her chest. As much as she wanted her boys and the Avengers, to come for her, she didn't want anyone hurt. Not for her. Not because of what she'd done for the bureau.

"Did you read it?" his voice was  _too_  calm.

Chris scrambled to read it, scanning each line wildly until she spotted the data on him.  _Oh God._  They'd tracked him down just for looking for her.  _No…_

"Who is Meraxes?" Odysseus demanded. "And don't lie because I already know the answer."

 _No, he's just a kid._  He'd been so proud of the moniker, a legendary dragon from the  _Game of Thrones_ books. Chris swallowed hard, swearing that she could taste blood in her mouth. "F-Fred… Fred Jennings."

Jerking her back, he forced her to look at him. "Who is he to  _you_?"

Chris didn't have to lie there. "I worked with him… That's all."

Odysseus grinned a slimy grin that made her feel ill. "No one special then?"

Chris shook her head as much as she could.

"Was there  _anyone_  special, Athena?" he asked gently. "Any former lovers I can… dispatch?"

_I'd like to see you try to dispatch either Bucky or Steve._

Again, Chris shook her head as much as possible. No one had ever known her to date. No one outside the compound knew about her relationship with Bucky and Steve.

Odysseus stared at her hard as if trying to determine if she were lying.

Without warning, he shoved her hard onto the floor, laughing when she cringed like a dog before him.

Pulling a phone from his pocket, he took her picture. "Look at me!"

Chris had been trying to hide her face but when he looked as if he were going to kick her, Chris did what he wanted, brushing her hair back from her face. As damaged as her face felt, she didn't even know if she was recognizable at this point. He took more photos.

Stepping over her, Odysseus stepped over her and went back to the screen, pulling up a video.

"Watch!" he ordered her.

Chris scrambled on the carpet, as fast as she was able to move with her injuries and took in the screen. A spike of fear pierced her heart as she watched the screen, seeing a man walking in the video in front of the person filming. They stopped at a door and knocked.

"No!" Chris screamed as she watched Fred answer, his eyes rounding in fear when the man who knocked raised the gun.

She couldn't look back at the screen when the gun went off. They'd killed Fred. An innocent kid…

Her soft sobs were drowned out by the sound of his laughter as she sank onto the carpet. This was  _her_  fault. They'd gotten a message out. Odysseus and his people realized someone knew she was alive, that they were being watched. They could target anyone.

What if they discovered Cole?

How could she stop this?

"Ross royally fucked up when he tried to fuck  _me_ ," Odysseus told her. "You were  _my_  prize! I paid a fortune for you and now those fucks at the FBI are looking for you?"

He didn't say anything about the Avengers. Chris thought  _that_  was interesting.

Chris had assumed that Ross was the one who'd betrayed but to have that verified…

"If they don't want to end up like poor Fred, they will act as if you  _are_  dead, Athena," Odysseus said in a warning tone. "If not, I will send you back to them. One small piece at a time."

Chris's heart raced in her chest as he ordered the guards to yank her back up and drag her back to her cell. Again, Cole was the one she leaned on when the pain was great. At least she had him…

 

* * *

 

 

"Captain Rogers," FRIDAY announced that morning as Steve poured coffee for Bucky and himself, "my boss would like a word with you."

"Go ahead," Steve said as Bucky stumbled into the kitchen of Tony's Florida home.

A screen materialized, and Tony's somber face appeared in front of them. "Hey, Cap."

Tony only contacted them when he had news but one look at that expression and Steve knew it wasn't the type of news he wanted.

"What is it?" Steve asked quietly.

"Odysseus knows we're looking for Chris," Tony explained. "He sent thugs to Fred Jennings' place in DC. They shot him in the head."

Steve's heart clenched in his chest, remembering the fresh-faced kid that had accompanied them to Australia.

God only knew what he could be doing to their girl.  _Their Chris_.

"It gets worse," Tony told him. "He sent a warning to Crenshaw with the Jennings video…"

Steve shook his head. "He sent them a video of Jennings being executed?"

"Yep, and he sent this…"

An image of Chris filled the screen and Steve felt tears coming on. There she was, beaten and broken in a huge pair of pajamas, cowering on the floor. Her entire face was bruised, beaten. Her beautiful lips were split, one eye was completely swollen shut.

The worst part was the fear he read in her expression. A tear ran down his face as he felt Bucky come up behind him to look. Their girl didn't deserve any of this, no matter what the bureau had her do in the past.

"What else?" Steve wanted to know all of it.

"He said if he catches anyone else trying to trace her, he'll start sending her back in tiny pieces." Tony's image was back.

"Anything from that? Was there any trace?" Steve asked.

Tony nodded. "I'll send details. I'd recommend moving fast, Cap. We know who Odysseus is…"

"Who?" Bucky's voice was tight.

"Carlos Vallejo," Tony told them. "The crazy half-American drug czar that no one has  _ever_  been able to catch."

Steve had read about the man and all his sinister acts. He tortured people, dropped them into mass graves. Some of his victims were never found. It killed him that Ross had given the woman they loved to such a sadistic bastard. Ross hated  _him_  so much he'd take it out on her. Chris wouldn't last long in circumstances like that.

The pain in Tony's expression led Steve to know that Tony also cared about Chris's situation.

"It won't take Ross long to get wind of this," Tony added.

Steve had already thought of that. He also knew that Tony and the others would want to be there but if they were going to hide their true whereabouts from Ross, Tony and the rest of them had to stay put.

"We'll be back soon," Steve told him. "You'll have to deal with him in the meantime."

"That's just fine," Tony told him. "Be careful. Take care of her… Okay?"

When the screen disappeared, Steve turned to Bucky, meeting his gaze.

"Bucky," he began, placing his hand on the other man's shoulder, "we're going to get her back."

Bucky nodded, the pain in his expression nearly took Steve's breath away. The rage running through him a dangerous thing, he trembled from it.

"He's  _mine_ ," Bucky whispered.

Steve wasn't going to argue the point. Tony, as promised, had sent coordinates to his phone.

"FRIDAY, find a place for us to land in the area where we are least likely to be detected," Steve commanded, watching as Bucky stared off into space, still shaking.

Because he felt the need to, Steve put his own coffee down and slowly wrapped his arms around the man he loved, pulling Bucky back against his chest. Bucky allowed it, just a slight bit of the tension leaving his body at the contact.

"I'm leaving within the hour," Bucky told him.

"I'm going with you," Steve whispered near his ear.

"Is she going to be okay, Stevie? Is she…." Bucky's voice broke and Steve tightened his arms around him. "I want Ross to pay for this. He did this to her, to get to  _us_ … He…"

"Not us, Buck," Steve whispered. "Me. Don't you dare blame yourself for this."

"You didn't agree to the accords because of  _me_ ," Bucky reminded him.

"I wouldn't have agreed to the accords anyway," Steve assured him. "Don't take this on yourself. Just help me. She's going to need you. She's going to need  _both_  of us."

A drop, one of his lover's tears, fell onto Steve's forearm that rested against Bucky's chest. "Our poor baby doll. It would have been better for her if she'd never met us at all. Steve, we –"

"No," Steve said gently. "Thinking like that doesn't change anything. She  _is_  in our lives. We both love her. And we're both going to get her through this. I promise you."

Bucky angled his head to gaze back at Steve, seeming to consider his words. They'd both been through so much. And now it was Chris and yes, she'd been taken and hurt, and it was their fault.

But Steve swore with everything in him that he'd be there for her. He would  _never_  allow her or Bucky to be compromised. Ever again.

They shared a gentle kiss, a soft moment that filled the calm before the storm.

"We  _will_  get her through this," Bucky whispered against his lips. "After everything you and I have been through, we should be able to handle that…"

Steve nodded, held him close for one heartbeat more.

"Let's suit up," Steve said then, ready now. "Let's go get our girl."

 

* * *

 

 

 

Phil Coulson was aware of several things.

It started with the fact that Odysseus had been drinking all day and had decided to delay his trip to his "island" for another couple of days. Phil's tolerance had been reached the minute the bastard had decided that he wanted Agent Danforth brought up "to have some fun with her."

He needed to get her out of there, out of the compound. Now. He would hide with her until Captain Rogers arrived.

He'd just reached his meager quarters as one of Odysseus's foot soldiers when he checked his phone. He'd been afraid that his message about the trading cards hadn't been received. It had been sent a couple of days ago and there'd been no reply. When he saw the simple return message, he smiled.

_Who is this…?_

It was code for "on our way". Phil grinned, shoving the phone back into his uniform and rushing around to grab what he needed. It was easy to subdue the guard posted to guard their arsenal. After he'd dropped the man unconscious to the floor, he grabbed a couple of rifles, a couple of handguns for Chris, and some ammunition. He found the tactical uniform and boots she'd been wearing when she'd been captured, shoving them into a duffel bag and he was on his way.

The keys had been trickier to get. As fate would have it, another prisoner had an episode of some type in his cell and Phil was able to pick the key ring off one of those guards, making his way quickly to Chris's cell while they were preoccupied.

The sight that greeted him when he reached her cell stopped him cold.

He found Chris huddled in the corner and the blood… At first, he was afraid she might have harmed herself. Then he realized that the young woman  _was_  bleeding but not intentionally. It was awkward because of  _where_  she appeared to be bleeding from.

"Agent Danforth," he whispered as he made it into the cell. "Are you okay? Is this your… cycle?"

She had her arms wrapped around her middle, shaking her head as tears spilled from her eyes. "No," she said in a shaking voice. "I have an IUD. I don't normally have cycles. It's just… it might be..."

 _Oh God._ Phil's heart sank as it occurred to him that it might be another horrible side effect from the severe beating she'd taken. If she'd been pregnant…

"What am I going to do?" she sobbed.

His heart broke a little at the question asked in such a scared voice. That a young woman as confident as she had been brought to this by such degenerates…

It fed his determination.

"I'm going to get you out of here," he told her.

" _No_ , I don't want them to hurt  _you_ ," she whispered. "And they will. I can't let them hurt you for what  _I_ did."

Phil reached up and removed the identity masking technology from his face. He hoped in revealing to her that he wasn't some young rookie, she'd have more faith in him. She'd trust him.

Her eyes widened on his face once he'd pulled the technology free.

"What? Agent… Agent Coulson?" Chris looked as if she meant to touch his face, but her hand was covered in blood and she pulled it back.

"I'll explain everything when you're safe." He smiled, nodded. "Now, I'm going to get you out of here," he said again.

This time, Chris nodded. He could see the glimmer of hope in her soft gray eyes.

"Captain Rogers is on his way," Phil told her, watching that hope grow.

"And Bucky?"

"I doubt any force on earth could keep him away," Phil assured her. "I need you to stay quiet and stay behind me. You understand?"

Chris sniffled, pulling herself together. "Yes."

Phil pulled her suit out of the bag, helping her change into it as gently as he could. He winced as he watched her tear off a portion of the pajamas to stuff into her uniform to stop the bleeding. He'd also brought a black skull cap, tucking her fair hair up into it.

Once she was ready, he gave her the handguns and ammo, helping her load them as quickly as possible.

They'd just made it out of the cell and down one corridor when he heard the guards calling for him. They called him "Sonny the Yank" which had prompted many crude jokes at his expense.

Knowing they were looking for him, he'd been the one Odysseus had sent to bring Chris to him, spurred him into action.

Stopping he said, "Do your best to keep up."

And with that, they were off. Chris couldn't run fast, and he  _knew_  she was in pain. But she hardly made a sound as she gave it everything she had, stumbling along but doing her best to stay with him.

It wasn't until they'd reached the rear exit of the compound that the guards caught up with them and Phil knew a moment's fear even though he had his rifle trained on them. There were seven soldiers, four with assault rifles trained on them. He tucked Chris behind him, trying to push her out of the open door.

The leader spoke in rapid Spanish, asking who the fuck Phil was. He must have killed Sonny and here he was trying to take Odysseus' prize. The man laughed, saying that his master would probably start with her toes, sawing a big one off and mailing it to Ross.

Phil would be  _damned_  if they laid a hand on her.

Just as he contemplated his next move, Captain America's shield flew in, taking out three of the soldiers as guns began to blaze. Phil turned, shoved Chris to the ground and shielded her himself. Faster than he could think, the two super soldiers rushed in, taking out the soldiers in a shockingly low number of movements and shots.

As Phil watched, Barnes kneeled to the ground, tipping up Agent Danforth's chin with the tips of his metal fingers. Her chin quivered as she stared into his eyes.

"You came for me," she whispered, crying.

Barnes gently kissed her while one small hand rose to touch his face, leaving streaks of her blood. The captain's gaze, who'd joined them on the ground, followed the trail of blood she'd left.

He glanced up at Phil in alarm. "She's been shot?"

Phil shook his head.

"Baby, what's wrong?" Steve whispered, his hands moving over her face, her body.

Casting a terrifying glance over his shoulder, Barnes rose from the ground.

"Get her back to the jet, Stevie," he told the Captain. "Take care of her. I've got this."

Phil was afraid at that moment. The demeanor of the man before him with his metal arm and a fucking arsenal of weapons strapped to his body didn't seem like the quiet Bucky Barnes that everyone at the compound had slowly grown accustomed to.

No, Phil felt as if he were in the presence of someone else. Someone terrifying…

"Bucky," Chris pleaded, "please don't go. Don't leave…"

His expression softened as he looked back, took a knee before her again.

"Doll, Stevie's going to take care of you," he said firmly but with kindness in his eyes. "You've lost a lot of blood. We can't let anything else happen to you."

"You can't go  _alone_ … Please…"

Another kiss he pressed to her broken lips.

"I  _will_  be back," he told her, accepting no further argument. "I  _will_  see you on the jet after I take care of this."

And with that, he strutted up the hallway in a way that stopped Phil cold.

Captain America's eyes blazed with determination as he watched him march away.

"They could kill him, Steve," she cried as the Captain gently scooped her up into his arms.

"I don't think so, baby," he whispered.

Phil started to follow Barnes. A hand on his shoulder stayed him.

"No," Captain Rogers told him sternly. "With me."

Phil glanced back, the sound of gunfire and yelling had just erupted.

 

* * *

 

 

 

Following orders, Phil helped Captain Rogers get Agent Danforth back to the jet.

By the time they'd gotten to the jet, Steve had a plan in his head. Once he had Chris and Coulson safely on the jet, able to take off if things took a turn for the worse, he felt a lot better. Chris had been inconsolable about Bucky going off to fight alone and honestly, he wasn't doing well with the idea either. With Coulson's help, he'd given her a mild sedative, sending her to sleep in seconds.

"I'm never going to be able to thank you enough for this," Steve told Coulson over her sleeping form. "Thank you for staying with her."

Coulson blushed, nodded. "I wish I could have done more… I-"

"You will," Steve bid him. "Stay here. Monitor her. I'm going to help Buck."

Coulson smiled at that. He knew Captain America wouldn't be able to sit out  _that_  fight. He nodded, and Steve left, confident that their girl was safe.

His best guy?

Steve ran as fast as he could back for the compound and what he found was worse than he feared.

The trail of bodies didn't surprise him. The state of those bodies, however, made Steve pause. Limbs were bent at odd angles or ripped off, the finesse Buck had normally had as an assassin and elite soldier? Gone.

Pain streaked the floors in trails of dark red as Steve kept moving, out of the compound and into the house. When Steve finally caught up to Bucky, everyone around them on the lowest floor of the mansion was dead. All except the man Steve recognized from his research as Vallejo also known as Odysseus.

And Bucky had already started on him.

Crawling like a dog on the floor, the man cried and yelled, trying to find a way to get away from Bucky who'd already shot him in the leg and the side.

"My men will be here," Odysseus warned, "they will make you suffer… as you've… never suffered before."

The man Steve loved glanced up at him without emotion, wearing the Winter Soldier's face, before turning his attention back to his prey.

"If you had any men left," Bucky said quietly, "and you don't because I killed them all, collectively, they would have no  _idea_  of how a man can truly suffer. But you will…"

Pulling out one of his many knives, Bucky shot it through one of the man's hands, sticking him to the floor as he screamed. The man's dark eyes darted around frantically, noticing Steve for the first time. Recognition flashed in his eyes before returning his gaze to Bucky.

"I know you," the man cried. "You're him!"

Bucky stuck his other hand to the floor with another knife and Steve debated what to do as he watched the man start to bleed out on his own carpet.

"Bucky, finish this and let's get back," Steve kept his voice calm, quiet. The last thing he wanted to do was set Bucky off. He just wanted to get him and their girl safely back.

Steve had spent long months with his friend like this, triggered by things they couldn't anticipate until he'd gone back into cryofreeze in Wakanda and Shuri had supposedly removed the triggers in his mind.

Now, he found himself wondering if they were gone after all. Bucky was very much that man that nearly beat him to death on the helicarrier the day they outed HYDRA. At the moment, he  _was_ dealing with the Winter Soldier.

Bucky didn't pause, didn't seem to be paying Steve any attention as he pulled out another knife, twirling it in his long fingers.

"Buck!" Steve rushed over, grasping his metal shoulder. "Stop!"

The metal arm shoved Steve back roughly before Bucky bent down and started carving into the man on the floor whose screams rang in their ears.

Again, Steve fought to make him stop. "Stop!"

Bucky paused to snarl at him. "He. Hurt. Her."

"And she needs  _us_. Now." Steve stared him down, the moment so intense and full of dark energy that Steve felt as if he were fighting for breath.

Again, Bucky shoved him back, making him stumble a few steps. Then he leaned down to grab Odysseus's head, twisting it quickly with a sickening crunch. He dropped Odysseus lifelessly back to the floor. Steve would get Tony's help dealing with this when he got back.

He watched as Bucky swallowed hard, gathering up his knives and swiping them on the pants of his uniform before tucking them back into place.

Silently, Bucky followed him back out of the mansion, back through the compound. Bucky was silent as a ghost as they finally reached the jet, climbing on and securing the ramp.

Phil smiled when he spotted them. "Where am I flying us to?"

"Back to Tony's place in the Keys," Steve told him. Coulson nodded and headed for the cockpit for their return trip.

Bucky helped Steve secure Chris on the medical table, frowning at the bloody towels tucked around her abdomen. Steve had wondered where the blood was coming from on top of all the bruises and cuts that littered her small body. He had to think of how they would get her medical care when they got back to the states.

And there was also Bucky. Oh, Steve knew he was in there somewhere but the emotionless mask he wore still sent chills down his spine as he watched their lover take a seat next to Chris's table. When he saw that Bucky held her hand in his flesh one, his heart squeezed a little in his chest.

Their Bucky was  _still_  in there.

Steve was determined to take care of them both. They were his. He'd be their strength.

And once he knew they were safe…

He was going after Ross.


	27. Chapter 27

Chris was aware when the jet landed. Carefully, she was gathered up into strong arms and carried out of the jet. It was bright early morning light, and she tucked her face against his chest, the heavy Kevlar across his chest giving away his identity.

_Bucky._

Steven and Phil Coulson were also there, the low din of their voices as they walked just barely reaching her ears.

"Hello, there," a female voice greeted when they entered the huge house Chris could mostly make out with her good eye.

"Helen," Steve said on a sign of relief. "Tony send you?"

"Yes," the small, dark-haired woman replied. "He said I'm to take very good care of her. I've got a team here and we've just finished setting up my cradle."

"Thank you." Steve meant it.

Chris was aware of being placed on a cold table, curling in on herself onto her side as soon as she was able.

"I'll, ah, be around if you need me, Captain Rogers," Phil Coulson's voice was low.

"Thank you," Chris muttered though she wasn't exactly sure where in the room he was.

The skull cap was pulled from her head and the woman's hands moved gently over her head and face. Steve knew who she was and trusted her. That was good enough for her.

"Possible skull fractures around the eye socket," Helen said matter-of-factly. "We'll do some scans next so I can see exactly what we're dealing with. I, ah, also need to do the rest of the examination so…"

"Stay," Chris didn't want them to leave her. Not now when she was just starting to feel safe again.

"Which one?" the woman's voice held a note of confusion.

"Both," Chris muttered. "Please."

Helen had help in peeling off the uniform she'd originally worn for the mission. It had to have been confusing for them since none of the injuries to her person happened while she was wearing the uniform. Her arms and upper body were inspected quickly before she felt a warmed blanket press around her shoulders.

Steve leaned down to brush a kiss to her forehead, tucking the blanket around her. "Almost done, sweetheart."

"The bruises are deep. There are four broken ribs," Helen said gently. "Maybe more."

As her eye adjusted to the room, Chris got a better look at Helen who was a beautiful lady. Bucky helped her peel off the bottom of the uniform while Steve held her hand. The alarm in Bucky's eyes at the amount of blood stuck to her, to the uniform had her heart clenching. Helen pulled away the shredded remnant from the pajamas she'd used to help staunch the bleeding at her lower body.

The doctor kept the examination brief, her face a mask of calm but her emotions were not so much. Chris was certain if the doctor had treated any of the Avengers before that her own injuries were probably pretty mild. But this? Chris knew the moment the other woman reached the realization.

"When was your last cycle?" Helen asked her carefully.

"Months ago," Chris explained, seeing Bucky's eyes start to shine. "I've been using an IUD for the last five months."

Helen's brow creased. Her emotions heightened more, and it made Chris uneasy, particularly when combined with the escalating fear she read in Bucky's face.

"Maybe I could have a word with just Chris for a moment?" Helen said as diplomatically as she could, her gaze never leaving Chris.

Tears seeped out from her wounded eye and flooded the other one. Chris shook her head gently. "No, just go ahead and say it."

Steve wasn't trying to mask his concern either as he watched the doctor examine her.

"Chris, there's been a substantial amount of blood loss and this occurred  _after_  these other injuries, yes?"

"The bleeding and cramping… started just a few hours ago. It was… right before Agent Coulson came for me. I-it was dark outside when Steve and Bucky showed up."

"And when did the other injuries take place?" the doctor pressed on.

"The day before. I don't know what time. I've been in a cell with no phones or TV… or anything."

"Did you experience any other symptoms when the vaginal bleeding started?"

Chris nodded, knowing in her heart what the woman was about to say but wishing it wasn't true.

"Pain at my lower back, lower abdomen." Chris felt as if there was a weight on her chest like she couldn't breathe. "Really bad cramps…"

"It looks… it appears from the bleeding and the tissue there… that you've suffered a miscarriage, Chris," Helen told her as professionally as possible. "I'm sorry."

Bucky scrubbed a hand down his face, blinking back tears of his own. Steve's hand tightened around hers, but he kept his face calm. Inside, Steve's feelings were a storm growing stronger by the minute. It was so different from his normal demeanor that Chris was a little afraid.

"The left femur is possibly cracked," Helen told them before pulling the blanket back over her lower body. Chris curled into its warmth, feeling the emotions of her men drowning her in anger and sadness.

"The good news is that I can have your body healed and as good as new in a matter of hours in my cradle," Helen told her gently. "I'll need to get your blood type and see if we can get you a couple of units to make up for some that you've lost. We'll need to get you cleaned up first. But I'll give you a few minutes before I send the nurses to get us started. I'll get everything ready. Okay?"

"Thank you," Steve's voice was tight.

Bucky moved up the table to lean over her, his hand gently easing her hair back from her forehead.

"Baby, I'm so sorry," Bucky whispered, barely hanging on. "I'm so sorry this happened. We should have… gotten to you sooner. We should - "

"No," Chris whispered, hanging onto Steve's hand. "I'm going to be fine, Bucky. Promise. You came for me. I… love you both… so much."

"I love you," Bucky whispered before his face crumbled, he dropped his head to her chest keeping all his weight off her. His tears broke her heart.

His upset seemed to pull Steve out of his head as he wrapped an arm around their lover, pressing kisses into his hair and then hers.

"I'm so sorry," Bucky whispered brokenly. "There was a baby… Oh, my God…"

"Did you know, sweetheart?" Steve asked gently, waiting until her gaze met his. "If you did, I promise, it's okay but…"

Chris shook her head. Then the enormity of the truth, of what they lost hit her and she dissolved into tears along with Bucky.

She'd been carrying a baby. Who the father was? It could have been either of them. There was likely no way to tell now. Chris didn't know about the little life she'd carried inside her until it was gone. Another thing gone…

"Shhh," Steve soothed her though he had a hand smoothing over Bucky's back too. "Sweetheart, we're going to be right here. I don't want you to worry about anything. We're at one of Tony's homes and Helen wasn't kidding when she said you'd be as good as new in a few hours. You truly will be."

With her one open eye, she glanced up at him, wanting everything to be just as he said.

"We won't have to leave you for missions, Sweetheart," Steve promised her. "We're staying right here for the time being, okay? It's going to be me, you and Bucky until you're recovered."

Steve's beautiful eyes were so clear, so filled with love for both of them and his expression matched. Inside, well, inside him that storm Chris sensed was growing. It didn't make sense.

They stayed together there for a few more moments before the nurses came for her, gently lifting her onto a gurney and allowing her to kiss each of them goodbye before they rolled her back where the doctor Tony sent was going to miraculously put her back together.

She was asleep just after they'd finished her bath.

 

* * *

 

 

Bucky had found the largest, nicest bedroom in the house and made camp there after getting a shower, stretching out on the huge bed to catch up on the news and wait Steve out while their girl was being looked after.

Steve had locked up once they'd arrived safely and he was assured that Chris was getting the best care possible. Once he was assured of her safety, he immediately drew in on himself and Bucky didn't need Chris's empathic abilities to know he was a mess in his head.

Steve had been like this after the battle at the airport in Germany too. Except, just maybe, this time was worse.

After a couple of hours passed, Steve had cleaned up and joined Bucky on the bed, propped against the headboard and painfully quiet.

"You okay?" Bucky finally asked him.

Steve nodded, didn't look away from the television.

"Stevie?"

Steve sighed and closed his eyes for a beat before meeting Bucky's gaze.

"Are you okay?" he asked again.

Crossing his arms across that impressive expanse of chest, Steve seemed like he was having trouble finding the words to explain how he felt. Bucky got that. It was just rare that Steve was  _that_  speechless.

"It shouldn't have happened," Steve finally said. "It was just… so fucking easy for Ross to take her, Bucky. That man could have killed her. She could have been dead when we got there."

Bucky nodded, rolling onto his side and moving closer to Steve, his head propped up on his hand.

"She's alive," he reminded Steve. "And I know you. You'll make sure Ross doesn't get anywhere near her again."

"You've got that right," Steve shot back at that. "We may need to move out of the compound. I don't care. Whatever we've got to do."

Bucky nodded his agreement. He'd been thinking about leaving the compound anyway, had said as much to Chris. Now maybe wasn't the time to share  _that_ , however.

"Helen said she'll get better," Bucky said gently. "Thank God Tony sent her. That eye looks  _so_  bad."

Steve nodded his agreement to that.

"Her body will heal, Buck," Steve replied, "but there's a lot more to it than that. You know what it's like to recover from violence like that. And I don't even know how I'd feel if…"

It was like Steve couldn't bring himself to say it.

Bucky  _wanted_  to talk about it.

"I don't have any idea how that feels either," Bucky said carefully, "but we'll be there for her. I don't know if it helps or not that she didn't know about it until it was… But we'll be there for her. We will."

The pain in Steve's blue eyes nearly took his breath away.

"She's lost so much, Bucky," he said, his voice starting to break. "And it's my fault. It's on me."

"What?" Bucky pulled himself up to a sitting position, so he could move closer to his lover. "How is that just  _your_  fault? That baby could have mine. Either of us could have been the father."

Steve shook his head looking miserable. "I was  _so_  selfish. I should have just… let her go, Buck. Yeah, I wanted her back for you because I could see that first week when she was recovering from being shot that you were gone for her. I'd be lying out my ass if I tried to tell you that was the  _only_  reason I went to see her in DC. I pretty much begged her to give this a try. And look where that's gotten her."

"What are you trying to say?" Bucky was a little afraid to ask that question. Was he regretting everything?

"I love her, Bucky, just like you do," Steve said quietly. "But I'm not sure if all of this is best… for her."

"Let her decide that, Stevie," Bucky told him firmly. "It's not our decision. It's hers."

"And if being with us gets her killed?" Steve's glare had him pausing.

Blowing out an exhale, Bucky held his ground. "We make sure being with us  _doesn't_  get her killed."

Dropping his gaze, Steve seemed to consider his words for several long minutes. Bucky feigned interested in the news again, but his mind was on anything but. Steve was scaring the shit out of him. It was one thing that their girl had been sold off, brutalized and nearly killed by an old enemy from her time at the FBI. It was another to know that someone on their side of things had betrayed her. And well, Steve was right in worrying about all the things that had changed in her life so far.

When he couldn't take it anymore, he asked, "How would you have reacted if none of this had happened and when we got back from that last mission… and…?"

"And she told us she was pregnant?" Steve finished for him.

Bucky nodded. "Yeah."

Steve blew out an exhale. He looked so tired in that moment.

"Maybe it's because by the time I found out about it was gone but… I would have wanted it as long as she did."

"Yeah?" Bucky's heart clenched in his chest.

"Yeah. What about you?" The intensity in Steve's blue eyes made him pause.

Bucky shook his head and grinned. "I've already been thinking about it, Pal. I've even told her about it. That last goodwill mission you want on with Wanda and Vision."

Some of the sadness dropped away from Steve. "You what?"

"You know, the night I took her out to eat and stayed at her place," Bucky explained. "I told her that night that… Well, I told her I wondered how it would be if we all stayed together, moved out into our own place. Had a couple of kids…"

The faintest blush rose on Steve's face as the corners of his mouth tipped up. "How did  _she_  take that?"

Bucky shrugged a shoulder. "She still made love to me right after we talked about it. If she was upset at all about it,  _I_  didn't realize it."

"You don't realize a lot of anything when you're horny, Buck," Steve told him with a grin.

"Hey! Not true. That wasn't me trying to get laid then. I meant what I said to her that night. Ever word. I told her I didn't need anything else in the world except for you and her."

Steve pulled him in for a gentle, romantic kiss then and kept at it until his toes curled. Pulling back, Steve sighed deeply then.

"We've never all talked about the future like that but maybe… maybe we should," Steve said, thinking out loud. "It's possible that after  _this_ , well…"

"That she'll want a baby?" Bucky asked, not ashamed of the hope that had crept into his voice.

Steve nodded.

"I'm perfectly fine with that," Bucky admitted. "I don't care who the father is either. I'm going to love any kid she gives us no matter what. You?"

"I always wanted a family," Steve admitted. "I always just thought I'd have that one day… before the serum and the ice and everything else that's happened since then."

Bucky reached over, taking Steve's hand in his and smiling.

"But there's something that needs to happen first," Steve told him.

When Bucky's gaze met his, the pure raw emotion in Steve's face had his heart pounding in dread.

"I need to make sure that Ross can never threaten  _her_ , or our children, ever again."

Bucky knew that tone, knew the steely determination in his best guys face.

"You mean to stop Ross," Bucky confirmed.

"By any means necessary," Steve told him firmly.


	28. Chapter 28

Chris stretched as she awoke, feeling heavy and groggier than usual. As she normally did, she stretched out her hands to either side. Finding those spaces empty had her jerking awake as she remembered that she’d been taken prisoner by Odysseus but then she didn’t think she was on that uncomfortable cot...

Scrambling, she sat up, struggling under several cozy blankets which she also hadn’t…

A strong warm hand gently took hers before the bed dipped and she was pulled into strong, welcoming arms.

“Shhh, doll baby, take it easy. You’re safe. I’m right here,” Bucky whispered close to her ear.

“Bucky?”

When she opened her eyes, there he was right before her, handsome as ever. Worry clouded those beautiful blue eyes as his gaze moved over her with nothing short of astonishment.

“What’s wrong?” Chris pulled gently out of his grip as her hands flew to her face, feeling wildly for her bruised eye and the pain at the cheek underneath. She felt for the splits in her lips.

They were  _gone_.

“Oh, God,” Christ whispered, burying her face in her hands. “I’m dreaming, or I’ve finally just lost my fucking mind…”

Bucky’s warm chuckle next to her as he wrapped a solid arm around her  _sounded_  real. He  _felt_  very real.

“It’s incredible,” Bucky mused, his gaze moving over her in wonder. “Tony sent Helen down here, she’s a geneticist, and she built this cradle that can actually make new… skin or whatever. You don’t look as if anything happened to you, doll. You look just as beautiful as you always do.”

Slowly, she gazed up at her dark-haired lover. “Can I see?”

Bucky nodded, looking around and realizing they didn’t just happen to have a hand mirror handy. There  _was_  a slender mirror on a stand in the rather nice bedroom she was in and that drew Bucky’s attention. She watched him walk across the room and lift it, carrying it back to her and holding it at the side of the bed so she see without disrupting all of the wires and sensors she was currently connected to.

Chris stared hard at the reflection there. Her hair had been allowed to air dry into quite a rat’s nest. But her face? Her body? She looked just as she normally did. That didn’t seem possible when the beating she’d taken had been very real and she’d verified the damage from it with her hands even though she never saw how bad it had actually looked. Chris decided maybe she should be grateful for  _that_.

Her hand smoothed over her face in the mirror, down her neck and over her chest and abdomen.

And there her hand halted.

The change in Bucky’s demeanor had her heart sinking. She kind of remembered them bringing her here, the talk with the doctor about her injuries, the miscarriage…

“I don’t suppose that her cradle could help with…?” Tears stung the backs of her eyes.

He set the mirror down and moved back to the bed to take her in his arms. “I’m so sorry, baby. I’m so sorry you have to go through this.”

Chris tightened her hold on him, hanging on as if he could keep her from drowning. The tears came on then, hot and bitter and he just held her while she cried, her face buried in his chest.

“Helen’s coming to check on you in a few minutes, doll,” Bucky spoke carefully. “She said that for a while, until you recover, that your hormones will be off, and you might have the blues here and there and that might make it worse… It’s okay. You can cry all you want to.”

Nodding, she just stayed there in the warmth of him. His body was a solid, safe haven. Likewise, his emotions were loving, warm. Chris just allowed herself to curl up there, listening to the strong, steady beat of his heart.

“Doll baby, she’s going to tell you that everything  _there_  is fine,” he went on. “You’ll still… you’ll be able to have a baby one day… if you want to. Everything is healthy, no damage.”

That got Chris’s attention. Gently easing back from him, she gazes up into his beautiful blue eyes. Chris was full-on reading his emotions.

“If all of this hadn’t happened and…” She didn’t know how to put into words. “How would  _that…_  have gone? I was  _supposed_  to be protected. I guess my IUD didn’t take into account who you two are and… What would have happened to us?’

Bucky’s eyes were filling with tears. “We talked about it, Chris, while you were getting healed up... Me and Steve? We would have wanted him or her… as long as you did too. Neither of us would ever consider that a problem. Not at all. I told you how  _I_  felt, Chris. I meant it.”

Yes, he had. Chris’s heart tightened in her chest. It meant  _so_  much to her that they felt that way.

“I didn’t know, Bucky, not until I knew… something was wrong. I don’t know what’s the matter with me. I didn’t know so why…” Chris began trembling. Bucky pulled her in to his chest. “Why do I feel so empty now? Why do I feel this… loss?”

Another set of arms wrapped around her from behind and that only had raw sobs pulling from her with Steve’s solid warmth and love there too. He pressed kisses into her hair, his emotions not a lot better than her own.

Chris was so grateful that they were holding her, holding her together…

“Forgive me, Sweetheart,” Steve whispered. “This… this is  _my_  fault.”

“No,” Chris was turning in their arms, trying to make Steve look her in the eye. He was  _wrecked,_  and her heart hurt at his words, the pain of his emotions behind them. Pressing a hand along his cheek, she waited until his gaze met hers. “Steve, none of this is your fault. How can you say that?”

He tried to speak but words failed him, he pressed his forehead to hers, tears sliding from his sky-blue eyes.

“Please,” Chris begged him, “please understand that none of this was your fault or Bucky’s, Steve. It’s just not.”

“The baby,” he whispered.

“Steve,” Chris’s heart was breaking for him, his emotions were a weight around her own. “That could have happened anyway, right? I mean…”

“Yes,” a female voice gently entered the conversation. “On average, one-fourth of all pregnancies end in miscarriage.”

If Helen Cho thought the two super soldiers wrapped around her were out of the ordinary, she took pains to hide it. Her expression was kind as she moved closer. Steve and Bucky moved slightly back from Chris so the doctor could get a better look at her.

“How do you feel physically, Chris?” Helen asked calmly.

Chris swiped at her tears with her hands. “Physically, I feel tired but there’s no pain anywhere. Not yet at least.”

Coming around to Bucky’s side of the bed, Helen moved close enough to grasp her chin gently with her fingers, turning her head so she could see the area where her eye had been damaged.

“That’s remarkable,” Helen muttered. “I hadn’t used it on any ocular injuries. Can you see well?”

Chris hadn’t noticed anything different, nodded.

“We’ll give you a couple of days to rest and then we’ll run some tests,” Helen told her.

Chris nodded. “Bucky said that… the miscarriage didn’t cause any lasting damage to…”

“To your reproduction system? No, there was no damage. I’m guessing the trauma your body went through between the physical abuse and the emotional duress from the kidnapping is what caused it, Chris. But as you said earlier, it might have happened anyway, particularly if it was your first pregnancy.”

“It was…” Chris just wished that she didn’t feel so lost.

“You’re young and in better shape than ever, if I do say so myself,” Helen tried to lighten the mood. “I’m so glad I was able to come help.”

“Thank you so much,” Chris told her. “Thank you for doing this for me.”

“For us,” Bucky muttered.

“Well, I’ll give you three some space,” Helen said with a smile and Chris appreciated that she didn’t seem to be judging them at all. “Be sure she gets plenty to eat and lots of water. Lots of rest. If you need anything, I’m right down the hall. I set up a makeshift lab in there. I’ve got a lot of notes to make from all of this.”

“Thank you,” Chris said again, meaning it.

Once the doctor had left the room, Chris blew out an exhale.

“Where are we?”

“Florida Keys,” Steve told her, capturing one of her hands in his as Bucky eased her back to lean on him. “One of Tony’s homes.”

“I know Ross did this,” Chris told them. “He came to see me at your apartment the last night we were all together, before that last mission.”

“Really?” That got Steve’s interest.

Chris nodded. “He informed me that he’d be pulling me into the mission once you’d all deployed. I… should have said something. I’m so sorry. That’s why…”

“You were so upset?” Bucky said close to her ear. “I knew there was something else.”

“Maybe if I’d told you…”

Steve tipped her chin up when she dropped her head, feeling close to tears again.

“No, it wouldn’t have changed anything,” Steve told her. “He would have found a way to…” His jaw tightened, and she watched a muscle twitch there as his thoughts began to heat with anger. “I don’t want you to worry about any of that, Sweetheart. He’s never going to be able to hurt you again. I promise you.”

The way he growled out the last words had both her and Bucky staring at him in concern.

“Please, don’t do anything that will make things harder for you and Bucky. Not on my account,” Chris pleaded with him.

Fury simmered behind the stone mask he wore. “You could have been  _killed_ , Chris. He almost took you away from me, from Bucky. He has to be stopped.”

Chris swallowed hard, literally afraid of what Steve was feeling for the first time ever. Bucky’s arms tightened around her as if to say “it’s okay” and she took a deep breath, nodded. She was just so afraid that Steve would do something that would cause him to get hurt. Or Bucky. The world needed them. Didn’t he understand that?

“From now on, I’ll avoid him,” Chris promised. “Tony should be able to help keep me away from him. He  _is_  my boss. It will… it’ll be okay.”

Bucky’s hand came around to clasp Steve’s. “Yeah, it will, doll. You’re right. Now, how’s about me and Stevie get you some breakfast, huh? The kitchen was amazingly stocked with everything you like to eat, even your favorite cereal. It’s fucking creepy how Stark and his technology knows what her fucking favorite cereal is.”

Steve’s expression eased at that and she could sense an inside joke between them. That was  _good_. Anything to keep Steve’s mind off going after Ross.

“Cereal doesn’t sound so bad,” Chris admitted. “Is there juice?”

“Ten kinds,” Bucky grumbled. “I’ll take care of you, doll.” Pressing a kiss to her temple, he eased her back onto the bed, propping her up while Steve found a remote for her television and brought it to her. Steve captured her lips in a soft kiss, just because he could, his eyes gazing meaningfully into hers as he leaned over her.

“Don’t worry about anything, Sweetheart,” he told her. “Rest. You’ve been through a lot.”

Chris smiled at him, at Bucky, watching as they headed out of the bedroom.

“Steve?”

Chris debated whether or not to ask but she just  _had_  to. Even if it never came up again.

“Bucky and I were talking… You…Would you have… “

Taking a deep breath, he came back to her bedside, his emotions frayed but he was holding on. For  _her_. He knew she was reading all his emotions, but it didn’t stop him from lifting her hand and pressing her palm over his hear.

“Chris, I would have… wanted our baby,” he said softly. Her heart melted when he said  _our_. “I would never be upset or think of it as… a mistake. I’m glad Bucky said something because… I’m really struggling with all this right now and… m’sorry. Don’t you ever think I would  _ever_  reject you, beautiful girl, or any child you gave us. Don’t care if it’s mine or his. He or she would always be…  _ours_.”

Chris lost it at that, ended up sobbing into the front of his sweatshirt and hanging onto him as if she’d never let him go. After a few moments, she realized that not all the tears were  _hers_. Neither of them immediately realized that Bucky had pulled them both close to him while they’d cried but it felt right that he had, that he was always right there.

“Come on, Pal,” Bucky whispered finally in a wavering voice. “We need to feed her.”

One last hug and Bucky was able to drag Steve out of the room while Chris tried to fight off the enormity of everything that had happened. Her chest her and so did her eyes. Chris felt weak at the moment like it wouldn’t take much for anything or anyone to break her.

But as long as she had the two of them, she’d survive.

They brought her breakfast before joining her for a nap. They weren’t there when she woke up but Helen peaked in to check on her as the evening went on.

“Ah, I finally catch you alone,” Helen said in a friendly tone while Chris felt her face heat up. “Can I talk to you for a few moments?”

Chris nodded, a little stressed in worrying what she wanted to talk about. Helen walked in, sat gently at the end of her bed.

“As someone intensely interested in genetics, Chris, I just wanted to mention that we’re probably going to need to work out special birth control for you,” Helen’s face darkened too. “You honestly never stood a chance in that arrangement.”

Chris had to laugh with her at that. “I guess not.”

“How?” Helen stopped, shook her head. “No, I’m sorry.”

“Hey, it’s okay,” Chris told her. “You’ve taken very good care of me when you didn’t have to. I think that earned you a question.”

She even knew what she meant to ask.

“Okay.” Helen blew out an exhale. “How did all  _that_  come about? The three of you? I mean, there’s nothing wrong with that but… they’re… and you…”

“They are  _very_  careful with me,” Chris explained. “They have to be with my being a regular human.”

Helen nodded, and Chris could feel her honest, academic interest in her relationship. Chris had been a little afraid that the other woman wanted to talk about it from another angle, but Chris could almost see the scientific questions form in her head.

“I’m wondering… If there’s another pregnancy… if any of you would  _want_  that, just… would their genetic makeup have an impact on the pregnancy? The baby? Plus, there were two different versions of the serum. Steve was modified using Erskine’s perfected serum. I’m not sure we know exactly which version was used on Bucky.”

Chris stared at her hard. She’d never even thought of that. They weren’t bad questions at all.

“I don’t know,” Chris told her. “I’d never given it any thought, honestly. I guess I’d wonder what impact it would have too.”

“Just a future thought but if you guys decide to try, we might want to keep an eye on things,” Helen explained. “And I’d be lying if I told you I wouldn’t love to study that. So, would Bruce I’m sure.”

Chris nodded, knowing she was right. “Well, if that happens, if you’d like, I’d be more than happy to have you keep an eye on us. Watch over everything.”

Helen’s smile lit her up from the inside. “Thank you. I  _would_  really appreciate that.”

“I’d feel safer knowing you were watching everything,” Chris admitted. “The last few days have given me quite a lot to think about.”

“I’m sure they have.”

“The three of us have been seeing each other for a few months now,” Chris told her. “It was my own fault that I was careless out there in the field, ending up out of commission for the bureau. I was damn lucky that I had a safe place to stay in the compound, with them. Until this happened, I honestly didn’t think anything like that could happen to me. I didn’t stop and think what my actions for the FBI all those years caused… A friend of mine was killed. He was the sweetest guy and they shot him. That could have been me. When I stop now and think… if any small thing had gone differently, I wouldn’t  _be_  here right now.”

Helen smiled thoughtfully.

“I didn’t understand until now how much I have to be grateful for,” Chris went on. “I missed the FBI so much but what if my actions there had gotten me shot just like Fred was? I haven’t been able to talk to my Aunt Jenny in almost a year and she was moved from her home and her job because of me. Because I fucked up.”

Concern clouded the other woman’s expression as the tears came back. Chris couldn’t stop them. She wished she could but…

“I can’t help but think… Was there some way I could have avoided this? Could I have refused to go with him? If I’d been thinking, maybe… maybe our baby would still be alive. Maybe…”

“No,” Helen moved up, taking Chris’s trembling one in her own. “You can’t make all of this your fault. It’s not your fault your friend was shot any more than it was your fault about your aunt or the miscarriage. You—”

“It is,” Chris wailed. “It is my fault. Don’t you understand? If I hadn’t been so… selfish the entire time, just maybe…”

“I’ll take it from here,” a quiet voice came from the doorway.

Bucky walked in, nodding to Helen who moved closer to brush a gentle hand over Chris’s hair.

“I’ll be here if you need me,” Helen whispered.

Bucky sat next to Chris, his hair pulled back, still damp from a shower. He wore a simple black sweatshirt and jeans. As if she were light as a feather, he gently lifted Chris into his lap, wrapping himself around her. Chris just sank into his warmth.

“I’m sorry,” Chris whispered. “I’m so sorry.”

“Doll baby,” Bucky pressed a kiss into her hair, “you’ve got nothing to be sorry for.”

“I—I do, Bucky,” Chris struggled to go on.

“No,” he whispered. “I am sorry about Fred. He was a good kid. But that wasn’t your fault, baby.”

“How can you just… forgive me?” she wanted to know. “For everything? All of that?”

Bucky blew out an exhale. “Chris, I’m not trying to invalidate your feels as my therapist would say but… Your emotions are all over the place and some of it might be like Helen said and be from your hormones… Some of it is survivor’s guilt, also from my therapist…”

Chris was just hanging onto him at this point. “What am I going to do?”

“Breathe,” he told her gently. “Just breathe, be with us… We’re going to be okay, doll. I know it doesn’t feel like it right now. But we will.”

He held her for long moments before she finally stopped, swiping at her tears. “Where’s Steve?”

“Outside talking to Coulson,” Bucky told her.

“Is  _he_  okay?”

Bucky’s hesitation was the first red flag. The crush of his emotions was the second.

“You’re worried,” Chris pulled back to gaze into his beautiful eyes. “What’s he planning?”

Bucky shook his head. “Are you sure you can’t  _read_  minds?”

Chris nodded. “I get impressions from the emotions of someone. There was so much… anger in him, Bucky. Rage. It wasn’t directed at us, but it still made me afraid. I don’t want anything to happen to him or to you. Not for me.”

Bucky’s flesh hand slid up her arm, cupped the side of her face. “I know. Me too. But I’ll keep an eye on him. So will Tony and Natasha.”

“He’s after Ross,” Chris whispered.

“Yes, he is. That’s got to happen. Someone needs to bring Ross down.”

Chris wanted that, but she was afraid… so afraid…

“I’ll keep him safe, doll baby,” Bucky promised her. “It will be okay. I promise.”

But Bucky couldn’t promise her that.

“I won’t let anything happen to either of you,” Chris swore, her words choked with tears, “not because of what I’ve done in my life. I’ll do anything to keep that from happening.”

Chris knew Bucky believed it was the hormones talking or PTSD. He held her in his strong arms, trying to soothe her.

But Chris had meant that statement with her whole heart.


	29. Chapter 29

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Thanksgiving to all my stateside friends.

Tony could hardly contain his excitement as he held the three of them up at the door to Steve's apartment. Chris noticed that her door and Bucky's had disappeared.

"Okay, so I know you were wondering why I told you that you couldn't come back until now," Tony was doing his official Tony Stark spiel which Chris found adorable. She had an idea of what he'd done, and his excitement was contagious. He made eye contact with all three of them, but he was focusing mostly on her. "You three now, possibly, have the second-best suite in the entire compound. Of course, I wouldn't do something grander than my place with Pep, but… You ready to see it?"

Chris exchanged a glance with Bucky before nodding and Tony opened the door.

The space that had been three spacious apartments had been reconfigured into what looked like the inside of a mansion. First, there was an elegant living space, so lavishly furnished that Chris was already cringing. Like her guys, she like furniture that wasn't dainty and that she could crawl around on. Still, it was beautiful. The kitchen was a good size with a generous dining area and table that seated six.

Instead of leading them around, Tony stood off to the side and smirked as Chris darted around and the two of them followed her. They had a private gym now – that would be handy – and a huge den that had Steve written all over it.

The master bedroom had her face heating up. The bed was huge and the furniture in there was either really retro or straight up antique. There were nice bedside tables, practically a movie theater screen of a TV and a vanity for her. Huge closets, three of them, and a bathroom that was shiny and enormous with a conspicuously roomy shower and whirlpool tub.

Two other guest bedrooms with their own bathrooms were the last part of what seemed like an enormous living space.

Tony really  _had_  thought of everything.

"What do you think, doll baby?"

Bucky was excited, his blue eyes shining. His emotions told her that he wouldn't care if they shared a one-room hole of an apartment. It just mattered to him that they were together and that she and Steve wanted the same thing.

Even Steve was waiting for her reaction. The smile he wore a little shy, a little unsure as he stood in the middle of their bedroom.

"It's incredible," Chris told them smiling. "I love it."

And she meant it but didn't have a chance to dwell on that when Bucky snatched her up and swung her around. Then they pulled Steve into a group hug until she couldn't breathe and started laughing.

"Wait," something occurred to her. Chris headed back into the living room where Tony waited patiently, still smirking.

"Took you long enough," Tony told her patiently, waiting for the trio to reach him. "Go ahead. Ask me."

 _Damn him._  Tony always seemed one step ahead of her.

Chris couldn't fight the smile that came on. "Do  _I_  have a place to work here? A laptop or  _anything_?"

Tony pouted at her. "You  _really_  think I would neglect the technology needs of one of my own employees? I'm hurt, Chris."

Chris play punched him. "I doubt that. So?"

Tony casually walked to the long wall behind the living area, typing a code into a tiny control box. The entire wall slid away to reveal the ultimate girl cave behind it, a veritable computer science lab and very similar to his own setup, she noted. Chris practically had her own network there and everything she needed to do her work for him. Hell, she probably had what she needed to do anything her little techie heart desired.

Once the shock wore off, she squealed and dashed into her new space to get a closer look. Her mind was already spinning with projects she'd had in mind, particularly one…

Bucky groaned behind her. "I knew you'd find some way to ruin this, Stark," Bucky's tone was teasing, and it made her happy that slowly they were mending fences. "How the  _hell_  are we ever going to get her out of there?"

"Your problem, Jaime Lannister," Tony told him, and Steve laughed. They'd just finished the first three seasons of Game of Thrones.

Tony placed a warm hand on her back. "Now  _this_  is a girl cave. You like?"

Chris surprised him by hugging him hard. "Yes!"

Tony chuckled. "I won that bet."

"What bet?" Steve joined them, his gaze surveying the room.

"Pepper didn't think this was a good idea," Tony explained. "That she'd be so deliriously happy. I won."

"It's  _perfect_ ," Chris told him. "Thank you so much. For all of this."

"Yes, thank you, Tony." Steve pulled Tony in for a hug.

"Okay, enough domesticity," Tony was still smirking, putting up his hands as if to ward them off. "I've got to go collect on my bet now."

As Tony reached the door, Chris stopped him. "What did you win?"

Tony's face darkened slightly. "That's, ah, classified."

"I'll bet," Bucky said from behind her.

"Talk to me for a minute, Chris," Tony tilted his head to the hallway.

Turning back, Steve nodded, and she followed Tony out into the hallway.

"So, Chris," Tony said carefully. "How are you…  _really_?"

Chris reached out, realizing that she was relying more and more on her gift these days. Tony's normal façade was carefully in place. On the inside, his emotions were much like Steve and Bucky's. He was worried about her, about her true emotional state. Because of the kidnapping, the beating, the miscarriage…

All of them were concerned that she was worse off than she let on. None of them were wrong…

Chris took a deep breath. If she could convince her guys she was okay, she should be able to convince Tony too.

"I'm fine," Chris told him in the most genuine tone she could produce, mindful that her guys could probably hear her too if they really tried. "It's taking time to get my head… around everything but… I'm fine."

"Chris," Tony wasn't buying it. "How  _are_  you?"

Chris blew out an exhale. "Tony with everything  _you've_  faced, that Steve and Bucky have faced? That's what I should be asking  _you_. I mean, thanks to Helen I was all healed physically in two days and I got a free Florida Keys vacation for three weeks and that helped. I imagine the PTSD will be there for a while, but I'll get over it in time."

Tony took a step closer, his gaze intent on her. "There was more to it than that, Chris… You lost a baby."

Tony was nothing if not brutally honest, in a way Steve would consider rude and Bucky would only use if he were furious. Tony didn't hold back, and it could be a blessing… and a curse.

Chris's confidence flagged, and tears stung the backs of her eyes. She tried to blink them back but Tony saw. He  _knew_.

Chris felt the loss of that precious tiny soul at the oddest times and it never left her. She couldn't even explain  _why_  that loss grew worse by the day. She hadn't even known about it. She hadn't known anything, and the part that really tore her apart was that she would  _never_  know. Was it a boy with Bucky's dark hair and mischievous smile? Was it a girl with Steve's fair hair and sky-blue eyes? Could there have been twins?

Chris fought to hold Tony's gaze.

"You have  _them_  fooled. They love you, Chris. They both want you to be happy and safe. If that's what you show them, they'll believe it because they  _want_  to," Tony said, his own voice struggling. "I know because… I've done the same damn thing."

"What?" Chris felt a tear escape to run down her face.

"Pepper's the true hero of our ship, not me," Tony explained. "Don't make the mistake I made, Chris."

Chris swallowed hard. "And what mistake is that?"

"Telling yourself you have to battle your demons first. Telling yourself  _that_ is more important than what you have right in front of you. Because there's always that chance that… what you're counting on being there? There's no guarantee it will be."

Chris inwardly cringed in guilt. Tony saw a lot.

"Pepper always waited for me… even though I didn't deserve for her to. She always believed me or told me she did. It took  _almost_  losing her to realize that happiness, if you're lucky enough to get any of it, is just too  _precious_  to put off while you're doing something else, Chris. More precious than say… revenge?"

The remark was meant to draw a reaction, but Chris didn't take the bait. Just nodded.

"Ross  _will_  be dealt with," Tony assured her. "I've got my hands full trying to wrangle Steve and you know that because he wants him as badly as you do. But we have Fury on our side. The right time will come. I just need you to trust me. To trust  _us_."

_It's personal._

Ross had been the one who sold her to Odysseus, making him responsible for everything that happened during that event, most especially the loss of their baby. No way she could sit on the sidelines and wait for the right time or wait for Fury or Tony or Steve to deal with it and fight her battle…

Ross would pay. He would  _hurt_. And she wanted to be the one to hurt him.

Chris nodded, collecting herself, wanting him to think he was getting through to her.

"Pepper and I, we're trying…" Tony's face slightly darkened. "I mean, I'm not getting any younger and…"

"You're trying for a baby?" Chris asked, smiling.

Tony nodded, casting his gaze down as he did during the rare times he was unsure of something.

"Just  _think_  about it," Tony told her. "Not meaning to be an anti-feminist asshole here but you've got a big new place, lots of room, two  _really_  over-the-hill baby daddies… How  _fun_  would that be? We could design some tiny iron suits and little shields…"

That had Chris chuckling. Not only at the mental images that brought on but at his growing discomfort at the entire conversation. "Pepper made you thrown  _that_  bit in, huh?"

"Maybe." Tony laughed. "Not my business, I know, but doesn't that sound a lot better than…"

"Taking down some asshole who has it coming?" Chris said matter-of-factly.

Tony's expression sobered quickly. The concern clouding his hazel eyes made her pause.

"Just think about it. I know you're more cerebral, kid, like me," Tony went on. "You've spent years not dealing with emotional relationships because it's more comfortable to be in your head."

Chris stared at him hard.

"Am I wrong?"

_No._

"Now you're in a relationship with… two really great men, Chris," Tony went on. "They love you. Don't do anything to that could result in taking yourself away from them… Please?"

 _They'd have each other_ , her traitorous mind whispered.

Chris nodded. "I'll take that under advisement."

When she decided that sounded too cold, she darted forward and hugged him. Tony smiled at her as he pulled back, his expression sad.

"Let me know if you need anything," Tony said, placing a careful hand on her shoulder. "If you need someone to talk to, I'm always here. Or Pepper. I'd do a better job."

Pressing a kiss to her cheek, Tony made his way towards the elevators and Chris let herself back into their new place, trying to quickly shake off the raw emotion of her talk with Tony.

She found Steve already milling around in the kitchen, but Bucky wasn't in sight.

"Everything okay, Sweetheart?" Steve asked gently as he paused in rearranging the items in the shelves the way he wanted.

Chris nodded. "Yeah, Tony just wanted to quiz me on how I'm really doing." It was true. "He's worried about me. I really appreciate him. And all  _this_? Wow."

"It's a lot," Steve said with a glance around. "But I don't think it will be that hard to get used to."

Chris grinned. "I don't think so either. Bucky's happy."

"Buck's ecstatic," Steve corrected, chuckling. "He's already hit the tub. You going to play in your cave?"

"I was thinking about turning in early," she admitted. "I'm feeling really tired today. Some days I feel back to normal and other days, I feel like I want to go to bed for a week. I'm hoping it will even out at some point."

Steve nodded. "Can I get you anything?"

Chris shook her head, headed to where he stood in the kitchen and wrapped her arms around him.

Steve hugged her back, he was  _so_  careful with her now. Brushing her hair back from her forehead, he tipped up her chin before leaning down to kiss her in a sweet way that had her heart fluttering. A romantic kiss.

"I love you," Steve told her, his emotions so sincere, and it stopped her cold.

Steve and Bucky often said that to each other and Bucky had said it to her a couple of times deep in the night when he thought she was sleeping. It was the first time either of them had just…

"I love you too, Steve." Chris meant it, pulling him down for another kiss, trying to pour her feelings for him into it as the tears came on.

Worry flooded him when he realized she was crying, and she shook her head, swiping at her tears angrily. "Happy tears," she explained, willing him to believe her. "I'm happy right now. I just can't control my stupid tear ducts these days."

Steve pulled her against him, her head pressed to his chest and his own heart hammered along with hers. All his warmth, all his strength was a balm and for the moment she basked in it.

It made her more determined than ever to find a way to do away with Ross so that her life with them wouldn't be impacted. There  _had_  to be a way.

Steve was careful to keep his hips pulled away from her though she could feel the heat of him easily. Even though she was completely healed physically, and they all slept in the same bed, they had yet to resume anything remotely sexual with her. The desire was there but their concerns had them treating her like fragile glass that could break any moment. Especially Steve.

And most of the time Chris was so lost in her mind, so lost in her plans for revenge, that she just let it be, thinking she didn't miss it for the moment.

_Oh, but she did…_

"I'm going to… get ready for bed." Chris stretched up to kiss him before making her way back to the bedroom, feeling his need strongly as she walked away.

Bucky heard her come into the bedroom. "You okay?"

Chris made her way into the bathroom. Bucky looked  _so_  happy in the steamy whirlpool tub, content in all that warm, rushing water that she had to smile. "You're happy, huh?"

"So happy," he said, his blue eyes sparkling. "Want to join me?"

_Would I get sex if I did?_

It was tempting but he'd already been in there a few minutes. She could just see him staying with her a few minutes before getting out to make her something to eat or get something for her…

Chris shook her head. "I told Steve, I'm going to go to bed early. I'm feeling tired. Must be all the excitement."

Was it wrong that the disappointment she read in him made her happy?

Kneeling at the side of the tub, she kissed him before heading in to sleep on the enormous bed they now owned. Chris showered, brushed her teeth, and reached for the flannel gown she'd been sleeping in since Tony's house in the keys. The thought of pajamas after her kidnapping was out of the question and the gown was warm and comfortable. Made her feel a little safer.

Tonight, she didn't want to wear it. Padding into the bedroom, she stripped off her clothes and rummaged through drawers, trying to figure out what was where in their new apartment. Finally, she found a drawer with Bucky's shirts and she snatched out a t-shirt of his, a simple gray one that was worn and soft. Wearing only panties, she pulled it over her head, sighing at the feel of it against her skin.

Chris hadn't realized Bucky was in the room until he cleared his throat.

Chris couldn't help smirk at him. "Are you okay, Buck?"

He was staring. He wasn't even trying to hide it. Then shame pushed down his enthusiasm. He seemed to remember he'd come into the bedroom for the same reason, looking for something to sleep in.

Chris motioned to the drawer she'd just pulled the shirt from. "Here are some of your things. We'll probably be weeks finding everything."

Bucky slowly walked toward her, nodding. "Totally worth it."

"It is."

Wearing only a towel, she couldn't help but stare back at him a beat before heading back into the bathroom to finish up. When she came back out to go to bed, he was gone, in the living room watching TV with Steve from the sound of it.

Chris climbed into bed, not meaning to listen as she pulled the covers up and over herself.

Not just watching TV in the there. A low moan, clearly Steve's, got her attention.

It wasn't jealousy she was experiencing as she listened for a couple of moments. She didn't blame them at all for satisfying their needs. Chris had needs too and she was just about to slide her hand down into her panties and get herself off on the enticing sounds coming from her living room.

Oh, but she wanted to  _see_  it.

Desire pulled her out of the bed, had her stopping at the edge of the living room.

Her two guys were making out on the couch, they looked so beautiful together. Steve's hands were clutched in Bucky's long, thick hair as their kiss went on, a sensual dance of lips and tongue and Chris felt heat pooling low in her belly.

Bucky's mouth scorched a path down Steve's neck, over his chest, moving down. From where she stood behind the couch, she saw Steve shift before Bucky tossed the sweatpants he'd changed into to the side. Bucky's dark head moved further down.

Her insides clenched in desire. She appreciated that they'd been so careful with her after her kidnapping ordeal, but enough already. The needy whining sound Steve made had her thighs clenching together tightly.

Chris had learned early on not to startle either of them, so she approached the couch, placing a hand lightly on Steve's shoulder to let him know she was there. His gaze flew to her, his eyes darkened with need, his mouth slack as Bucky's head bobbed up and down, working his impressive length.

Bucky saw her then, stopping. His eyes widened on her as she dropped to her knees with one of Steve's thighs between them, pulling Bucky to her for a dirty kiss to get a good taste of Steve. Bucky moaned into her mouth as she deepened it, his hand stroking Steve gently as they kissed.

Glancing from Bucky to Steve, Chris moved forward, sliding her tongue around the impressive head of Steve's cock before easing him into her mouth and beginning to work him.

"Oh, Sweetheart," Steve gasped out. "Yes…"

One of Steve's hands clutched in her hair. She pulled back and Bucky smirked at her, placing his mouth on Steve then and hollowing out his cheeks as he went, still watching her.

Chris gently pulled Steve's thigh on the other side of her, putting both her and Bucky between his legs. Leaning forward again, she began to lick and tease Steve's balls as Bucky continued his blow job. Steve moaned above them, a hand on each of their heads and tension in his powerful thighs as he allowed them to take him apart. He fought them as long as he could. When he was close, she watched as Bucky moved his finger close to her mouth. She ceased what she was doing long enough to suck on it. Her mouth resumed its work and that finger slid into Steve, searching.

Bucky was a good marksman. Steve came with a shout in seconds after that, his body jerking beneath them as they worked him through it, Bucky swallowing everything down. Steve fought to catch his breath above them as Bucky gently pulled Chris into his lap, enticing her with kisses, allowing her to taste Steve on him.

"What can I do for  _you_ , doll baby?" Bucky asked, brushing fevered kisses over her face and throat, his hands roaming gently over her body. "Anything at all. What do you want?"

Chris was desperate in his arms. "Bucky… I need to come. I need it so bad.  _Please._ "

Bucky smiled, a beautiful smile. "I'll take care of you. I'm always going to take care of you."

Grabbing a fluffy throw from the couch as Steve was coming around and looking very interested in the proceedings, Bucky stretched it out on the floor in front of the couch. Lowering her onto her back, he hovered above her, his gaze intense.

"Chris, I need you to promise me… if anything hurts, if anything is… too much, I need you to stop me. I need you to tell me," he meant it. "Promise me."

It wasn't a request.

"I promise, Bucky," she whispered, literally trembling now in anticipation. " _Please._ "

Bucky wore only the sweats he planned to sleep in and they were tented in the front. When she reached for him, he caught her hand and pressed it to the floor next to her head.

"Nuh-uh," he whispered against her lips. "This is all about  _you_ , baby doll. Relax."

Bucky's kisses were enticing, switching from gentle to dirty and back again. His hands jerked up the shirt she wore and tossed it away as his lips scorched a path from the column of her throat down to her collarbone, his flesh hand sliding up to tease the nipple of her breast.

Chris was bucking under him trying to get friction.

"Shhh," he soothed her, dropping his head to take her nipple between his lips. Chris writhed as he laved it gently with his tongue, his strong hands, one rough and one smooth, skimmed down her body to pet her thighs.

Chris held on to him, wrapping her arms and legs around him, pushing herself up into his touch, his mouth.

"We haven't been taking care of you, have we doll baby?" Bucky whispered, his darkened gaze meeting hers.

"Please," she pleaded. "Need it… Need you…"

"I've got you, doll," Bucky whispered, moving to her other breast as she sank her hands into the cool, silky strands of his hair.

" _We've_  got you."

Steve's hands whispered down her legs as he pulled her panties off. Gently, he insinuated himself between her thighs, nearly bringing her to tears when he pressed a kiss to the flat surface of her tummy first.

His gaze met hers as his hands smoothed up her inner thighs, spreading her open to his gaze. His plush lips pressed a chain kisses down to the inside of her knee and slowly back up until he reached her core and then he stopped.

Bucky also halted and glanced up at her with a heated gaze. "How do you want us to make you come, baby?"

"Inside me," Chris pressed up into their hands, hoping to move them to some action. "Please."

They exchanged a glance, there was some silent conversation before Bucky nodded, jumping up and heading back for the bedroom. Steve lowered his mouth to her core, had her fighting to push against his mouth in seconds, but she wanted more.

Steve's hands shook, and he looked as needy as she felt when he took the condom from Bucky, managing to roll is on before positioning himself at her entrance. Chris was grateful he went slow, the stretch of him as he pushed into her taking her breath away. There was the slightest tinge of pain, but she wanted it, welcomed it. Steve lowered himself so that he surrounded her and Chris wrapped around him, pulling Bucky in close so he could kiss her and Steve. When Steve's thrusts began to falter, and he came with a low moan, Chris had been right there on the edge.

But Bucky had always been observant. By the time Steve was easing his body off her, Bucky had a condom on and was ready to take his place. Sliding his arms under her back and hooking his hands over her shoulders, Bucky didn't hold back, and she didn't need him to. As her dark-haired lover thrust up, he was pulling her body down, the pressure so intense. Steve stretched out next to them, holding her hand as Bucky worked her, dropping heated kiss over every inch of her he could reach.

"Missed being inside you… so much," he muttered as her release slammed into her, tightening her core around him like a vice. Bucky managed to hang on as she writhed and cried out, Steve claiming her mouth for a kiss at the end of it.

Bucky never slowed down. All Chris could do was hang on as he moved within her, fighting for his own release. When it finally claimed him, his shout filled the room as he tightened above her. Steve claimed her mouth for a kiss as Bucky rolled to her other side, looking completely blissed out.

Steve's lips skimmed over her jaw, down the column of her neck, over one breast where he paused for a just a moment. He moved down her body, pressing gentle kisses across her heated flesh until he made it back to her center.

Chris shook her head, trying to get her breath back. "No, Steve…"

"I'll be careful," he whispered as his mouth moved over her, hot and wet.

It stung a little, but he kept his movements light, slow. Bucky pulled her upper body into his arms as Steve continued the gentle assault on her, bringing her to climax again in seconds. When he kept going, she did push his head away as he grinned at her.

Bucky pressed kisses to her jaw. "Feeling better?"

Chris felt much better, tired and sated in a way she hadn't felt in weeks. They helped find her panties, Bucky's shirt. They all managed some state of dress within minutes before Steve was surfing through channels.

"Want me to take you back to bed?" Bucky offered.

"Stay out here with us," Steve bid her, exchanging a look with Bucky. "You can sleep. We'll carry you to bed when we go."

It sounded good to Chris. She ended up stretched out on the couch, her head in Steve's lap, Bucky's flesh hand rubbing at her back from the other side of the couch. She didn't know what documentary they were watching, but once he was finished with popcorn, Steve's hands settled in her hair, smoothing the strands over and over until she fell asleep, warm and safe in their new apartment.


	30. Chapter 30

While Bucky had been so happy when Tony had consolidated their apartments and he'd moved in with his Steve and his Chris. Having them next to him at night kept the nightmare visions from his past at bay mostly. In their arms, he found rest, peace.

His past was currently the least of his problems.

He and Steve had gotten up at dawn as they normally did, leaving a sleeping Chris in the center of their bed. Steve usually had to drag him away because she looked so beautiful, so soft laying there tangled in the sheets that he just wanted to crawl back into bed with her. He wanted to wrap himself around her until she began to stir and then wake her completely up the most sensual way he knew how.

Now she looked so tired. The shadows beneath her eyes weren't getting better. Normally at night, she went between being Bucky's little spoon to wrapping herself around Steve when he stretched out on his back. Now when she came to bed, normally only an hour or two before their run, their girl was so exhausted she didn't move in her sleep – and not in a good way.

"You okay?" Steve asked, rubbing the back of his neck as he stopped behind him.

" _I'm_  okay," Bucky didn't like the sad note in his own voice.

Steve blew out a sigh but didn't say anything. His blue eyes were clouded by his own worries when his gaze met Bucky's.

"You ready?" Steve asked.

It had been like that for days. As usual, they went for their run, barely talking until Sam came up and got them both going as only Sam could. Sam tactfully found ways to bring up Chris without asking how she was. He'd even offered to talk to her as a counselor, as he had for the VA, if they ever wanted or needed him to.

Bucky was giving it some thought.

Steve cared too but Bucky was concerned about  _him_  for different reasons. Reasons he was guessing Steve wasn't sharing with him or Chris. There was a mission coming up soon and though Bucky didn't know many of the details yet, he assumed they'd all be going. Only  _he_  had no plans whatsoever to leave Chris there without one of them so long as Ross was still milling around. Ross had been conspicuously absent from the compound since Siberia, but Bucky knew it was only a matter of time before he came around again.

Chris had survived his attempt to get rid of her. She knew Ross was responsible for what happened to her and for the lives of the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents he'd cost. But they couldn't just go after him, guns blazing.

Taking down Ross, because of the station he'd attained, required having stone cold proof that he  _had_  been the one responsible. And he'd covered his tracks very well. Tony, Nat, and Fury all three had been working behind the scenes trying to find anything to implicate Ross in the entire affair but so far hadn't had any luck.

That left things in a mess.

Steve didn't say much but Bucky knew it was eating at him. More than a couple of times at the lockers or when Steve thought he was alone, he'd ask FRIDAY for a status on Chris. Making sure he knew where and how she was. When they were all together Steve acted as he normally did. Bucky knew he was hoping with time, Chris would snap out of the melancholy that had taken hold of her after the kidnapping.

Chris would stop work when they made it back each day and they all had dinner together. Steve had been teaching her little things about cooking which brought Chris out of herself for short periods of time, so he kept it up. Then they'd watch TV together.

Intimacy was unpredictable now. To the point that he and Steve would often grab a shower together before dinner, getting each other off quickly so they'd be ready for however the evening went, so they could be patient with their girl and not frustrated. If Chris initiated things, they went from there, giving her whatever she wanted and needed. A couple of times she'd told them she had work left to do for Tony and retreated to her cave. He and Steve had ended up making out, heading for the bedroom with the understanding that Chris could join in any time. They always wanted her. And she did eventually follow them back, but just as an observer, gently kissing Bucky and holding him as Steve solidly fucked him.

Most of the time, she went back to bed with them to watch TV and sometime after they'd fallen asleep, she'd get back up, go back to her cave and stay there for hours.

And that was the part that scared Bucky. Chris could be doing  _anything_  in there and he wouldn't know. Chris was right up there with Stark when it came to technology. She was formidable enough that when the identity the FBI had established for her was compromised, some of the most powerful deviants in the world were after her. As far as he was concerned, Chris was capable of a lot.

He knew she was after Ross and his ultimate fear was that she would do something that would result in them losing her.

"Cap, Tony and Fury are asking for you," Sam came and got them as they walked back to the compound from their run.

Steve's expression told him that he knew what the meeting was about, and it wasn't good. "I'll catch up," Steve told him.

Bucky nodded. He  _could_  go to the gym. But he decided then and there he was going back up to their place instead, maybe sleep in a little while with Chris because that was what his heart wanted.

Heading straight for the bathroom to shower when he got there, he was startled to find Chris there, sitting on the edge of the tub, sobbing.

"Baby?"

He'd startled her, she wasn't expecting to see him, and he pulled her into his arms as he joined her there. She felt cold, sitting there in one of Steve's shirts and her panties. An open box of feminine products was tipped over in the floor between her and the toilet and he realized what was going on.

Smoothing his hands up and down her back, he pressed kisses into her hair. "Does it hurt?" he whispered. "I can get you something for the pain."

Chris didn't answer just held onto him tighter.

"I need to clean up," he whispered. "How about I take you back to bed, get a shower, and I'll come get back in bed with you. Would that be okay?"

Her head tipped up at that, the hope in her gray eyes had his heart squeezing in his chest. Chris nodded.

Bucky had her situated in bed with a glass of water and some of the painkillers she had left from Dr. Cho. He showered and was back with the efficiency of a SWAT team, pulling her against him and letting her get comfortable as he stretched out.

"Feeling better?" he whispered as she laid her head on his chest.

"The cramps are really bad." She sniffled. "It's my first cycle since…"

It hadn't occurred to him until then that it had been about six weeks since the kidnapping and the miscarriage.

"Helen said she'd work with me on something for… birth control… I need to call her I guess but…"

The tone of her voice and the way she lightly trembled against him had him thinking.

"Is that what you want, Chris?"

Lifting her head, her gaze met with his. "What do you mean?"

_Someone_  in their apartment needed to talk about it. She and Steve never did.

"Do you  _want_  to go back on birth control? Or did you want to…"

The misery he read in her eyes broke his heart a little. With his flesh hand, he brushed her hair back from her face and waited for her to form an answer.

Bucky shook his head. She was just like Steve. She wanted something but was so afraid of inconveniencing anyone else, like she wasn't allowed to want something for herself. Sometimes they both drove him crazy.

Bucky tipped up her chin when she tried to look away. "Chris, do you  _want_ a baby?"

She hadn't expected him to ask that. He could tell.

And that's when the tears returned. "I don't know," she whispered miserably.

Sitting up with her, Bucky pulled her onto his lap, letting her cry it out and wishing with everything he had he could take the pain for her.

When she finally pulled back to gaze up at him, he watched her struggle with whatever she was trying to say.

"Bucky, I think… I  _do_  want one… a baby but…"

Was it wrong that his heart was flying at those words? Having a child that was theirs was something he could envision, something he was starting to really hope for.

"But?" he prompted gently.

"What if… I guess it would wise to resolve everything with… with Ross first," she reasoned slowly.

Bucky nodded thinking that statement could be taken one of two ways. Either she meant she was afraid of being pregnant and taking a chance that Ross could get his hands on her again.

Or she meant she couldn't be pregnant because of what she might be planning to do with Ross and the consequences from that…

Surely, Chris wasn't thinking that way.

"He won't ever get near you again, doll, I promise," Bucky tried to assure her. "If you want a baby, we'll have one. Stevie and I? We'll take care of you. Ross will never be anywhere near you or him. Or her."

Chris smiled through her tears at his words and shook her head. "It's not that," she whispered.

"It's not what?" Bucky wanted to know.

Chris shook her head, dropped her gaze. He cupped her cheek with his hand, guided her to look at him again.

"Chris, promise me you're not planning anything," he pleaded. "Promise me you're not going to try and move on Ross by yourself. Please. Baby, I can't –"

Chris pulled away from him, he let her and she jumped out of the bed. She ran one hand over her face, the other pressed to her abdomen as the fast movement had hurt her.

"Bucky," she said through her tears. "I love you. I love Steve. But I can't promise you that I'm going to sit on the sidelines and let everyone fight my battles for me."

He was off the bed and in front of her in the next beat.

"Chris," he lightly gripped her shoulders, "that's  _exactly_  what needs to happen when it comes to Ross."

Chris glared up at him. "Why? You think I can't take him on?"

Bucky shook his head, afraid of how determined she was. "No, I'm all too afraid that you  _can_ , baby. But Ross is in a position of power. He's not some thug you've fucked with in some other country for the FBI. It's going to take time and the right approach to bring him down. I know you  _can_  do it. But it would kill me and Steve to see you hurt or killed or locked away because of that asshole."

The anger faded from her expression as she considered his words.

"Not only that," he went on calmly. "When's the last time you slept more than three or four hours, huh? You don't sleep. You don't eat much. You never leave the apartment even though Ross hasn't been here since before…"

Her gaze dropped, she nodded.

"Let this go, doll," he begged her. "Let us deal with it. We'll get him for you. Steve's as set on exposing the bastard for what he is as you are. You know that. You could get back into doing all the techie stuff you and Stark do. We could have a baby if you wanted. We're all together now, let's  _enjoy_  this."

Chris sank down onto the edge of the bed, swiping away tears. Bucky knelt in front of her, not willing to end the conversation until he felt she understood where he was coming from. And he was confident he could help her understand. She wasn't  _quite_  as stubborn as Steve…

"And if Ross hurts any of  _you_?" Chris said through her tears.

Bucky shook his head. "Not going to happen, doll baby."

"You can't promise that." She was right. "And I… What? Am I supposed to just let you, you two, the Avengers, just… this is all I am now?"

At that moment, Bucky understood more. Chris was missing being a valuable FBI agent, a member of a team, who could take care of herself. He got that.

"Chris, for now, yes, I'm asking you to trust us. To lean on  _us_. I think sometimes you forget that the reason you  _are_  here is on us. Maybe it's our fault and we  _should_  handle Ross for you. I know that's what's in Steve's head."

Her gaze narrowed on him. " _That's_  what's eating Steve? He thinks all of this is your fault? The two of you?"

Bucky shook his head. "No. In his mind, it's  _his_  fault."

"Seriously?" Chris shook her head. "I should have known. Jesus, we're a mess right now, huh?"

"We don't have to be, doll."

With that, he scooped her up because she was shivering, and situated her back in the bed with him next to her.

"Just think about what I said, okay?" Bucky pressed a kiss to her lips. "Let's get a couple more hours of sleep. You could use it. I'll stick around today."

Chris gazed up at him, running a hand through his hair. "I look that bad, huh?"

"You look beautiful, doll baby. But you need to sleep. For me?"

Snuggling up to him, she was asleep in minutes as he caught up on the news.

She'd left Bucky with a lot to think about and he wasn't able to go back to sleep after all. He just stayed and watched over her.

 

* * *

 

Steve wasn't in the best mood after Tony and Natasha's latest attempt at getting anything on Ross turned up empty. A mission was coming soon, not involving Ross, but he was going to have to make a decision he didn't like when the time came. They really needed all hands on deck for it, the situation was likely to be  _that_ bad. He knew Bucky would refuse to go and leave Chris alone. And he agreed with that. He didn't want her to be there without one of them either. But he really needed Bucky too.

After weeks of Chris recovering from the kidnapping and assault, Steve had been about to lose hope that things would turn around and get back to something like normal.

After HYDRA had been revealed inside S.H.I.E.L.D, he'd found Bucky back but for the longest time, he didn't  _really_  have Bucky back. Not until Chris came along.

Chris not only gave his first love back to him, but she'd loved  _him_  too, just as he'd asked her to try and do. And they'd all been happy for a time.

Until Ross had literally plucked her out of their lives to punish him. Ross had given her to an animal and Steve was only grateful that things hadn't been worse. It had been bad enough that he'd beaten her so badly, caused her to lose a child. The depression she'd slid into since concerned him.

The one thing it  _had_  done was bring out every protective instinct Bucky had and that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. He was so focused on Chris and her well-being that he almost seemed, at times, the Bucky Barnes that he'd known in childhood, the one who'd saved his scrawny ass on several occasions.

A few days ago, Buck had disappeared from the gym, and he found him back in their apartment, in bed with their girl and unapologetic. Steve hadn't said anything. He was grateful he'd held his tongue because, since that morning, things had been a  _little_  better. He couldn't put his finger on how. Chris was spending less time in her cave. She even worked in her office next to Tony's the day before and he was half-hoping she'd do so again today.

Steve had almost been jealous of how stuck together she'd been with Bucky since that morning, their quiet conversations seemed to fade when he got close. But just last night, he was stretched out on the couch watching a football game. Chris came and just stretched out in front of him, curling up like a cat and falling asleep against his chest. Any jealousy he might have had disappeared after that. He just needed to know she needed him too. She did.

He'd just wrapped his hands up and was heading up to the gym to go a few rounds with the punching bag. It'd always been a way he could let off steam which lately was getting to be pretty often.

Steve was surprised when he reached the gym to see Natasha sparring with Chris.

They hadn't noticed him, at least he didn't think  _Chris_  had anyway, and he just watched. Chris wasn't bad at all. If she could put on a little weight, she'd do better he mentally noted. She was outmatched by Nat who was throwing her around aggressively, but it seemed to be what Chris was looking for. And Chris was patient as Natasha would stop and explain a sequence of moves to her and correct her technique.

He didn't realize he'd headed in the direction until Nat looked up, smirking at him. "Hey, Rogers. Come to supervise?"

Steve shook his head. "No. You're doing just fine. Keep doing what you're doing, and I'll spar with her."

Nat's brows shot up, but she didn't argue.

Chris stood panting and gazing up at him with a look that he took to mean  _really_? He could hear her say it in his head and he grinned.

"Hey, Sweetheart," he told her, throwing off the boxing gloves, pulling off the tape job. "Is that okay with you?"

She hesitated but slowly those gray eyes lifted to meet his and she nodded.

Together he and Nat put her through a pretty rigorous session. She'd impressed him with her patience and her eagerness to learn. Her demeanor appealed to the teacher in him, had him going over techniques and moves right along with Nat.

"I've got to go," Nat said reaching down to check her phone at the edge of the mat. "Tony," she added meaningfully.

Steve hoped with everything in him that they had something.

"You want to keep going?" he asked as they watched Nat dash out.

Chris grinned. "For a little while, yeah."

Steve focused on helping her use her size to her advantage and she was an eager student. They went a few rounds until he noticed she was tiring, not hitting with the same power.

He helped her up, smiling at her. "You feel okay?"

Chris nodded. "Yeah, this was good. I need to get back into running, training. I'd like to do  _this_  more."

"You feel like Nat and I helped you?"

Chris nodded, grinned. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me, Sweetheart," he told her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and steering her towards the dressing rooms. "We can do this every day I'm in the compound if you want to."

"So you're going to improve my fighting skills  _and_  teach me to cook?" He loved the bit of mischief in her big gray eyes at that. "Buck might start getting jealous."

"I wish," Steve told her with a wink. "He'll catch on to this soon enough and then he's going to tell you how to cheat when you spar with me."

She laughed at that. He'd  _really_  missed that sound.

"He could beat you?"

"Yes," Steve told her honestly. "He beat the hell out of me on one of the helicarriers when the Triskelion fell."

"I'll bet you weren't trying to fight him," Chris said as they walked.

She wasn't wrong.

"Buck's been beating my ass and saving it since we were kids," he explained. "Yeah, he could probably beat me most days."

Chris blew out an exhale. "I forget. Once upon a time, I guess you weren't a lot bigger than I am, huh?"

He stopped, his gaze moving over her. "I was your height. I maybe had ten pounds on you."

"Seriously?"

"Seriously."

"So that's how you're able to tell me how to go up against someone like you are now?"

"Pretty much."

"I want to get better at this," Chris said with feeling.

Steve nodded. "Maybe one day you won't have to hide anymore. You can get back out there. I know I'd feel better with you trained by us."

Chris grinned at him bashfully. "I'll never be Avenger level but… I don't know what's in my future as far as a career. I do miss the Bureau but life here is pretty good too. Nothing like thinking you're going to lose everything or die to make you take a good look at what you have. I have quite a bit, Steve. I'm grateful. For you, for Bucky. For Tony and everyone here. You should know that."

His heart was flying at her words. She thought she could be happy here? She was grateful for all of them? Steve  _wanted_  it to be true so bad.

"What?" she asked him, her gaze searching his. "You look… skeptical."

Steve dropped his head. "You mean all that?"

"Why would I say it if I didn't?"

"Because you don't want me to worry?"

"Granted, but… I do mean it, Steve. I've been doing a lot of thinking and…"

"Talking to Bucky about it," Steve threw in.

"See? I  _knew_  you were jealous of that," she told him, concern clouding her pretty face. "I just… I don't know how to…"

Steve took her face in his hand, made her focus on him. "Just say it, Chris. Put us both out of our misery here. Whatever it is, you can tell me."

"It's not that I could tell Bucky and not  _you_ ," Chris began. "That's what he said but you and I lately… You've been worried about me and I've been worried about you, and I still am. I know what you're doing and that you're going after  _him_. And I understand, and I love you for it. But I'm so afraid that something will happen to you because of this, Steve. With everything you've been through… I'm not worth this."

He pressed a finger to her lips. "You are to me. You are to Bucky. I don't think you understand just what having you in our lives has meant. I won't do anything to jeopardize that. I promise."

Chris blew out an exhale, stepping into his arms. He held her against his beating heart.

"Was that it?" Steve whispered. "Was that what you were worried about all this time?"

"Part of it."

He tried to pull back from her, but she held on tight, not moving her head from where it was pressed against his chest. She wasn't looking up at him.

Steve didn't know what else to do but wrap his arms around her again, smoothing his hands up and down her back.

Clint walked up the hall, nodded to him in greeting, but kept walking as they stood just outside the dressing rooms.

"What else, Sweetheart? Tell me," he said gently.

Even with his enhanced hearing, he barely heard her.

"Iwanttohaveababy."

Steve's heart sped up. Did she just say what he  _thought_  she said?

He couldn't help the smile that spread across his face. Bucky  _knew,_  and Steve knew just how happy he  _had_  to be about it. How had Bucky been able to keep that from him?

Steve had a couple of concerns like his and Bucky's line of work and the fact that he'd always imagined being married  _before_  he had kids. There were a few things to talk about, iron out.

But their girl wanted a baby…

"What was that?" Steve pried himself away enough to capture her chin and tip it up, so she'd look at him.

The color that flooded her face only had his smile widening.

"Steve," she said so quietly, "I want to have a baby."

He gazed down at her for a beat, everything that had been preying on his mind dissipating.

"Then let's do it, Sweetheart."

Steve fought back his own tears as he watched relief and happiness take over her expression.

"Really?"

"Really." Steve pulled her back into his arms, holding her close and not giving a damn who was walking up and down the hall by them right now. Her heart pounded as hard and fast as his did and for a moment, he was able to let so many things go.

He'd deal with the situation with Ross tomorrow. He wasn't going anywhere.

"I love you," she muttered against his chest.

"I love you." Steve pressed a kiss into her hair. "You working in the office today?"

"Yes," she told him.

"Then Buck and I will swing by and get you after work and we'll go have dinner," he told her. "Celebrate. Sound okay?"

Sam's whistle was low as he walked by in time to see Chris pull Steve down to her for a kiss that was equal parts passion and love.


	31. Chapter 31

A/N: This chapter totally got away from me. Almost 7k. I'll try to do better. Thank you for all the great comments and favorites. Thank you!

 

* * *

 

"You're here early," Tony said with a grin, spotting Chris at her desk in the next office.

Chris nodded, smiled back weakly. "Morning. I'm just chipping away at the jet program."

Tony's gaze moved over her, his smile faded a little. "Early in the day to work on something that… boring, isn't it?"

Chris shrugged. "My boss is an asshat that gives me boring jobs."

Tony laughed, his eyebrows shot up. "That's how it is?"

Chris chuckled along with him. "That's how it is."

"Fine. You have coffee at least?"

Just the mention of coffee had her feeling ill.

"Ah, no. I'm good. Thanks, Tony."

Tony narrowed his eyes at her for a moment but went on into his own office.

Chris shook her head. God knew what he made of all that.

Tony had almost been as bad as her boys when it came to fussing over her after the kidnapping. The last several weeks had gone very well with Chris normally going to train each day with Nat, Steve, and Bucky when they were there and when she didn't need to be at work early for meetings with Tony.

Steve had met with Tony and Fury about what to do with Chris when they were needed for missions since the matter with Ross still lingered. Tony was going on fewer missions now and the first few missions had stayed out and her boys were mostly okay with him watching over her. Bucky wasn't happy. Steve assured him that Tony would take care of her. Bucky had finally,  _reluctantly_ , acquiesced.

The two missions they'd needed Tony, things had gotten tense with Bucky flat out refusing to leave. It had finally been arranged that Chris would work in the shelter Tony had built underground for emergency purposes like total world annihilation when all Avengers were needed. Bucky had still stubbornly held his ground and didn't talk to Steve for three days.

Finally, Phil had agreed to stay with her in the shelter. For some reason, that made the arrangement acceptable to Bucky. So for two missions, she'd stayed in the underground shelter with the agent who'd helped save her life already. Now Phil and his girlfriend were her very good friends. She'd even had them over for dinner with the guys and they'd all had a great time. She thought it was so cute how Phil all but fangirled over Steve at times.

Ross had been flying under the radar. When Steve and Bucky were off somewhere kicking ass in the world, as they were right now, even with Tony and Phil there, it made her a little nervous. She'd thought of a thousand different things she'd do if he actually showed up. He never did. They never heard anything. And if they were able to get anything on him, Steve, Tony, Fury, and Nat never said anything to  _her_.

"Chris, is Tony in?" Maria Hill peaked into her office.

"I'm thinking he went to get coffee. He'll be right back because he's got a meeting in about fifteen minutes," Chris told her.

"Thanks," the agent told her. "You okay?"

Chris nodded. "Yeah, just tired I guess."

"The guys  _might_  be back tomorrow," Maria called as she moved on.

Well,  _that_  was good news. They'd been gone almost three weeks and as much of loner as she'd once prided herself in being, she now very much hated to sleep alone. It would be good to have them back. Especially with Thanksgiving in two days.

Chris suspected Tony had sat out the mission just so he could plan a killer Thanksgiving dinner and a quiet "social" which she wouldn't have ever expected Tony to come up with. Party, yes, social, not so much.

Lunchtime rolled around, and Chris headed for the food court, picked up some lunch. Tony had finished his meeting around the time she had started eating.

"Ah, Chris?"

"Hmm?"

"What are you eating?"

"Food. Why?"

Chris had been teasing him, but he truly looked vexed as he looked over her desk.

"Do you have an aversion to food that's colorful?"

"What?"

"Everything on your desk is white and bland," he pointed out. "Are you okay?"

Chris nodded.

"Can I bring you anything? A drink? A condiment?"

"No, I'm fine," she assured him.

Shaking his head, Tony wandered out to find his own lunch.

Chris supposed he had a point. She had a bowl of clam chowder, plain mashed potatoes, bread rolls. She had been feeling like she couldn't get enough sleep and her appetite had been off besides. She'd gotten some Tai food three nights ago and it had made her sick enough to call in the next day. She decided to play it safe for a couple of days by picking out more bland dishes. Today, they just sounded good to her.

The rest of the workday had gone just fine. She'd packed up, heading back up to their apartment. By the time she'd changed into her pajamas and settled into her cave, she was starving. They had a kitchen that was kept stocked but nothing really sounded good until she found a huge box of instant mashed potatoes in the pantry. Chris prepped a bowl that would make Bucky proud, carried the mixing bowl and spoon back to her cave and settled in.

The video chat notification came in halfway through the bowl of mashed potatoes.

Chris excitedly pulled up the screen, smiling when she saw her boys on the screen looking freshly scrubbed and a little beaten down. Bucky had a deep-looking cut across his left cheek. Otherwise, they looked as they normally did after a mission.

"Hey!" Chris greeted them excitedly.

"Hi, doll."

"Hey Sweetheart," Steve said with her favorite smile. "How are you?"

"I'm good. How are you two? Where did the cut come from?"

Bucky waved it off. "It'll be gone tomorrow, baby. It's okay."

"Everything go okay?"

Steve nodded. "It went to hell for a couple of days, but I think we'll be okay. Everyone is okay on our end."

"I almost killed Sam," Bucky said proudly.

"What happened?" Chris asked, knowing there was a story.

And there was. Pulling her bowl up, she sat back in her chair and listened to them talk about the last couple of days and the fight Bucky and Sam got into. Bucky's impression of Sam always had her laughing and it did now as she listened.

"Doll, do you have enough potatoes there?" Bucky asked, nodding to it.

Chris cocked an eyebrow at him. "What are you trying to say exactly, Barnes?"

"That's a lot of potatoes," he reiterated. "But I'm glad you're eating."

"You sleeping okay?" Steve asked.

She knew one of them would comment on it. She  _did_  look like she hadn't slept in a year.

Chris shook her head. "I guess I don't like to sleep alone anymore," she said with a smile.

"Hey, we'll be back Thanksgiving," Bucky told her. "Just in time for Tony's dinner and whatever."

"He decided against a party," Chris told him. "Just a quiet dinner and a nice  _social_  he said."

"I'd rather watch the football games," Steve chimed in. "Digest. Recover."

Bucky nodding his agreement.

"I've never been to one of Tony's socials before," Chris told them. "It sounds… interesting."

Steve smirked and leaned in closer to the camera. "You sure I can't convince you to come back to the apartment after dinner? I'll make it worth your while."

That had Chris laughing while her face warmed up. "That was suggestive. I'm intrigued. What are we talking about here?"

Steve shook his head. "I'm not in a place where I can elaborate on that. You'll just have to trust me."

Bucky winked at her.

"I'll think about it," she told him.

"I'll wear both of you  _out_  and let you sleep for a couple of days," Steve offered in a lowered voice.

"Gross!" Clint yelled off-screen. "Rogers is in here talking dirty."

Steve's face went up in flames as Clint wandered in behind them with Sam right behind him.

"Hey, Chris!"

"Hey, Clint. Sam."

"You really call Tony an asshat?" Clint asked with a grin.

"I did," Chris replied.

"Okay, Clint, we don't have long," Steve used his Captain voice on his fellow Avenger. "Give me a minute, okay?"

Clint winked at her motioning for Sam to head out of the small room ahead of him.

"Okay, I'll let Steve get back to wearing you guys out," Clint said as he left. "Captain, I'm shocked honestly."

Steve was behind them and Bucky laughed at the sound of a door closing and locking on that note.

Bucky's gaze moved over her, concern clouding his expression. "We've missed you, doll baby. Can't wait to see you."

"Can't wait to see you," she told him as Steve sat back down.

"Tony said that it had been uneventful aside from planning Thanksgiving," Steve told her. "I'm glad everything's been going okay."

Chris nodded, surprised and annoyed when tears began to sting the backs of her eyes. Where was that coming from?

"Everything's been fine," she told him. "I just can't wait until you're both home."

_Great._  Her voice wobbled because of the stupid tears and they both noticed.

"Doll baby, it's okay. We'll be home in less than 48 hours," Bucky promised her.

Chris nodded, trying really hard not to burst into tears and while she did miss them, she had no idea where that was coming from.

"I know," Chris managed.

"Sweetheart, I'm so sorry," Steve told her. "We shouldn't have to go anywhere for several days though, okay?"

Tears leaked out of the corners of her eyes now and she was more pissed than weepy about it. Angrily she swiped them away.

"I know. I'm sorry. I don't know what's up with me."

They exchanged a glance, both looking contrite and there was no reason for it.

"I don't want to go but we want to make sure everyone gets a shot," Steve was apologetical. "Can't wait to see you."

Chris nodded her understanding. "I love you both."

"I love you, doll baby."

"Love you."

Chris shut down the connection, cried into the bottom half of her mashed potatoes and went to bed early.

Why the hell was her emotions all over the place?

Chris felt like hell the next morning. She called in sick and Tony told her he wasn't surprised, that he hadn't thought she'd looked like she felt well the day before. He told her to rest up for his Thanksgiving party.

Feeling better by that evening, Chris had tooled around in her cave for a while before heading to bed, excited that her boys would be home the next day.

The next morning, she felt worse than she had the morning before. The moment her feet hit the floor, her stomach rolled, and she barely made it to the bathroom in time. She ended up a sweaty, shaking heap in the floor by toilet hoping her stomach would calm down.

It wasn't like she'd gotten drunk or ate anything that could have made her sick. Clam chowder and mashed potatoes couldn't give her food poisoning, right?

Maybe she was getting sick. She was cursing her shit luck when her knee brushed by a tampon in the floor towards the back of the toilet's base. Shaking her head, she picked it up, thinking it must have rolled out of her box when she'd sat on the tub that day when Bucky had come back up to the apartment when she'd had her first period after the miscarriage and had been so upset about it.

Oh.

_Oh._

Well, hell. She hadn't gone back on birth control. They'd just decided to see what happened. From the internet, she'd gathered that it could months before she had a regular cycle since she'd been on contraceptives for several years.

Scrambling up on shaking legs, Chris dropped on Steve's side of the bed and grabbed her phone. She'd taken Helen's advice on keeping track of her cycles. She'd had two since the kidnapping and according to her calendar, her next one was…

Six days late.

Well, that hadn't taken long.  _If_  she was pregnant.

Chris didn't know a lot about it, but it seemed a bit early for morning sickness.

Only one way to find out.

With something like hope blooming in her heart, Chris made it over to her vanity, pulling a white box from the back of her drawer. She'd ordered the tests online, so she could have complete privacy, even from her boys. She didn't want to say anything to get their hopes up until she knew something for certain.

She laughed at herself as she pulled out one of the tests with shaking hands and did the entire pee-on-a-stick thing, her heart beating so hard in her chest as she watched the small white wand to see if the second blue line would appear.

Within a couple of minutes, the second blue line did indeed appear.

Chris was pregnant.

Wrapping her arms around her middle, Chris sat on the closed toilet in happy tears. She was getting another chance and she couldn't express the sense of  _joy_  she felt at that moment.

It was Thanksgiving and her boys were coming home and… how perfect could it get?

She'd made it to the shower, consumed with thoughts of their baby, about how she was going to tell Steve and Bucky.

_She couldn't wait._

Getting herself dressed and together was a bit of a struggle because she couldn't decide what to wear, what to do with her hair. Then she couldn't find the heels she wore with the flowered dress that Bucky had liked so much for a while. By the time she found them and was almost done with her hair, her phone went off.

It was Tony.

Pepper's flight was late. He needed help getting things in place. Of course, Chris was going to help him, and it would help her get over the nerves.

At least she remembered to unplug her curling iron before she left the apartment.

By the time they had the caterers set up, dining room the way Tony wanted, and Tony handed out huge bonuses to everyone helping out on the holiday, they heard that the jet was landing. Pepper arrived just after that, hugging Chris tightly when she came down, looking amazing in a sleek green gown that shimmered.

Tony was caught up joking with the staff, so Pepper had Chris go over everything that had been done before she got in.

"Are you okay?" Pepper asked.

Chris felt light-headed, took a seat on one of the couches just outside the dining area.

"Yeah," Chris told her. "I'm okay."

"Thank you for helping out with everything," Pepper told her. "This is pretty special for Tony."

"He's done an amazing job of planning it."

Slowly the team filtered downstairs. Clint had gone home to his family, but Sam came down looking freshly scrubbed, telling her his side of the fight with Bucky. He had her laughing by the time Nat and Bucky made it downstairs.

"Flirting with our girl, bird-brain?" Bucky play punched him in the shoulder.

"Nah, I was telling her my side of the fight with your dumb ass," Sam told him jokingly.

"I'll deal with  _you_  later," Bucky told him looking amazing handsome in a black crewneck sweater and gray slacks. His gaze was solely on Chris, looking her up and down as if he hadn't seen her in a year.

Not caring that their friends were all around them, he pulled Chris against him, hugging her with his entire body and holding her there for a long moment before kissing her breathless.

Now that was a  _proper_  greeting.

"Love you, doll baby," he whispered in her ear. "You look amazingly beautiful. You know I love that dress."

Chris nodded, smiled.

Steve wore a cream-colored dress shirt with his slacks, his eyes only on her as he entered the room. He grabbed her up in a hug and spun her around a few times, just seeming delighted to see her.

"Might not want to swing her around like that, Cap," Tony said walking by. "She's been a little under the weather."

Steve just smirked at his friend instead of collapsing into a ton of concerned questions as he normally did.

"You look perfect, Sweetheart," he told her with a sweet kiss.

"Thank you," she whispered. "You two look pretty wonderful yourselves."

Tony gathered everyone together for dinner and Chris couldn't help but marvel at the amount of food there. Yeah, he was feeding earth's mightiest heroes but still…

Tony was at the head of the table with Steve at the other side, flanked by Chris and Bucky. Pepper's smile let Chris know even across the room that something wonderful had happened and she didn't know what it was, but the other woman's happy feelings just enhanced what was turning out to be a pretty special day.

Tapping on his glass, Tony got everyone's attention. "A toast. I'd like to say a toast to my beautiful fiancée Pepper. I want this to be the best Thanksgiving feast ever because not only have we made it through another year alive but we're adding to our family. Pepper and I are ah, expecting a baby."

The congratulations and applause rang out as Tony kissed his beautiful, blushing lady. There were hugs, kisses. It was a special moment. They were a family.

Chris's eyes misted over, happy for her friends and thinking how ironic the timing was.

Everyone stood. Pepper didn't raise a glass. Chris did but she wasn't going to drink the champagne.

Bucky's eyes were on her, they looked shiny, and she couldn't help but wonder what he was thinking when she noticed Steve was staring at her too.

"So, the toast, to us and to baby Stark," Tony held up his glass. "To new additions."

"And  _our_  new addition," Bucky added, speaking up. "We're expecting too."

Chris stared at Bucky with her mouth open.

"What?" Pepper was running down the table, pulling Chris into a hug as Steve was staring at Bucky in as much astonishment as she was in. "This is amazing!"

Chris hugged her back. Tony made his way down, pulling her into a hug the moment Pepper let go.

"That explains a lot," he told her, kissing her cheek. "Good job, Danforth."

"You okay, Sweetheart?" Steve's voice was close to her ear. "I didn't know he was going to say that."

"He can  _hear_  you," Bucky told him, taking her into his arms. "I'm sorry, doll. I'm just  _so_  happy right now."

Her brain was just struggling to catch up.

"But how did you…"

"You left the test on the counter, doll," Bucky whispered. "First thing I saw when I went into the bathroom. I love you  _so_  much."

In all of her confusion in getting ready and rushing out to help Tony, she'd honestly forgotten. At least now she didn't have to think of a way to break the news to them.

"Okay, the damned toast," Tony said laughing, happier than Chris had ever seen him. "To the next generation of Avengers. God help us all!"

That brought much laughter and then the feast began. Chris couldn't eat much of anything, but she still enjoyed it all, not surprised with both her boys asking her how she felt here and there, could they get her anything. Chris hadn't been to one of their more family-like get-togethers before. The stories were great, Bruce surprising them all by being more talkative than she'd ever see him, sitting next to Nat who seemed to be hanging on his every word.

Tony's idea of a social it turned out was for them to continue drinking and telling stories after dinner but calling it a social because it seemed inappropriate to throw a party when you'd just announced you were having a baby.

Pepper caught her after dinner and they set off to the side comparing notes. Well, Pepper was sharing her notes and Chris was just listening mostly.

"I'm happy to have someone to do this with," Chris admitted.

"Tony said you were feeling ill," Pepper told her.

"Yeah, I thought it was a little early for morning sickness once I figured it out."

"Well," Pepper said, smiling over to where their three men were talking. " _They_  are enhanced. We probably better think about having Bruce or someone monitor you and the baby."

"Helen offered," Chris told her. "Not that I had any plans at the time we talked about it. It was the…"

Pepper nodded her emotions pure understanding.

It wasn't long before Steve was planning their exit and Bucky was his partner in crime, explaining to Tony that Chris needed to rest. Tony didn't protest because Pepper looked a little tired too. Pepper assured her that either her or Chris leaving wouldn't dampen Tony's spirits at all.

Tony did hug Chris before she left with Steve and Bucky, telling her congratulations. "Rest up. We need to start working on those little suits and shields and stuff."

That had her laughing.

They headed towards the elevator with Steve's arm around her shoulders, Bucky on the other side with his arm around her waist. They were still joking about their conversation with Tony until they reached their apartment.

Chris was heading for the couch to sit down and take off her heels when Bucky scooped her up bridal style for a change, heading for the bedroom.

"Careful, Buck," Steve's voice was serious behind them as he followed.

And he was when he placed her on the edge of the bed, kneeling before her to gently remove the heels she wore.

Chris smiled at each of them. "I'm sorry I missed your reactions to this," she explained. "The good news is that I had no idea how to tell you so  _that_ took care of that. I didn't mean to leave the test out like that."

"You found out today?" Steve's expression was hopeful.

Chris nodded.

He took a seat next to her, taking her hand in his larger ones. "It made me sad to think you might have found out a couple of weeks ago and couldn't say anything because…"

"Hey, we're not beating ourselves up over things we can't change, remember?" Bucky cut in. Leaning forward, he pressed himself between her thighs causing her dress to ride up. Gently he pressed a kiss to her flat tummy. "This is a  _good_  day."

Steve's gaze landed on the lace at the top of her stocking, stroking a finger over it as she shivered.

"When are we calling Helen?" Bucky's hands pulled her closer, smoothing up and down her back.

"Monday? After the holidays, I guess."

He nodded eagerly. "I'm glad she offered to help us keep an eye on everything."

Steve's emotions were shifting from happiness to worry. Chris placed a hand on his shoulder.

"What's wrong?" Surely, he wasn't having doubts now, was he?

Bucky blew out an exhale. "Tell her. She's going to say the same thing I did."

"What?" Chris was curious now.

"I just…" Steve finally looked up and met her gaze. "We're assuming that the baby will be perfectly healthy because of our enhancements but… what if it's not? What if the baby is mine and it's... like I was once."

"Steve." Chris's heart went out to him, worried already about their baby. "Helen will be able to give us some idea if that's even possible but… what if he or she was? We won't love them any less and we'll deal with it. The three of us."

Nodding, she knew he wasn't going to stop worrying about it, Steve pressed a kiss to her forehead. "We will. I just want the baby to have the best chance possible."

"Little one will have  _us_  as parents, right?" Bucky grinned up at him. "What's better than that?"

Chris grinned. Bucky rose up to claim her lips in a gentle kiss. "How do you feel, doll baby?"

Steve's finger had resumed toying with the top of her stocking, Bucky had pulled her against him so tightly her center was rubbing against his tight stomach and abs.

"I'm feeling pretty good right  _now_ ," Chris said against his lips.

Bucky's mouth left a trail of soft, enticing kisses over her jaw to just below her ear because he knew it drove her crazy. "Yeah, if I remember right there was some pretty big talk a couple of days ago about wearing us out, so much so that we'd be sleeping for a couple of days."

Chris gasped as his lips and tongue teased the sensitive column of her throat, the lobe of her ear.

Steve's eyes darkened a little as he watched, his hand on her thigh now, the fingertips teasing the flesh above her stocking.

"Think he was serious?" Chris asked Bucky even though her gaze was locked with Steve's.

"You think I  _wasn't_  serious about my plan?" Steve's voice was deep, his hand sliding up between her thighs, teasing her above her panties.

"Well –"

Steve claimed her mouth for a kiss, pressing her onto her back as Bucky scrambled to reposition himself. He took her breath away with the heated kiss, catching her gasp in his mouth as his hand slid inside her panties and into the wetness that had gathered there.

Pulling back, Steve smirked down at her. "It kind of feels like you thought I was serious, Chris."

Bucky grinned as he stretched out next to them. "You wet for us, doll? Did you miss us?"

Steve's fingers were too gentle, sliding through her folds to tease her opening and then sliding back up to her clit. He devastated her with kisses across her mouth, over her jaw to her neck to tease as Bucky had resumed doing on the other side. Chris was already writhing beneath them.

"Wait," Steve pulled back, glancing from Chris to Bucky. "Is it  _okay_  to be doing this?"

"It's okay," Chris wrapped her hand around his neck, pulling him back down to her. Bucky hadn't paused. "Please."

Steve's fingers resumed their movement and she felt Bucky's metal hand sliding beneath her to pull down the zipper of her dress. Once the top of her dress was loosened, they wasted no time in pulling it down and getting rid of her bra. Bucky grinned as he dipped his head to press a kiss to the top of her left breast.

"I can't wait to see  _these_  change," he whispered, beginning to tease her nipple with his tongue.

"Is that your way of saying my boobs are too small?" Chris teased him, gasping for breath because Steve had two fingers inside her now.

Bucky chuckled around her nipple now. When he finally released it, he winked at her. "Not at all. I love your boobs. But there will be more for us to enjoy as the pregnancy goes along, yeah?"

Steve trailed kisses over her collarbone, down over her other breast, teasing her as Bucky was. Chris was about to lose her mind but then Steve continued moving down her body. His hand ceased its movements and his fingers pulled free of her and she whined at their loss.

Steve tossed up her skirt and yanked down her panties impatiently. Heat pooled at her center before he stopped, meeting her gaze as he sucked those two fingers into his mouth. Those fingers made quick work of his shirt buttons, pulling the dress shirt open and out of his slacks before pulling off the undershirt. It was so mesmerizing that Bucky had paused what he was doing to watch with her.

"That never gets old," Bucky smoothed a hand up Steve's chest. "God, you're gorgeous."

Steve caught the back of Bucky's head and pulled him up for a steamy kiss that had Chris heating up just watching them.

Steve released him, leaving Bucky looking dazed and he moved down the bed, situating himself between Chris's thighs. Steve made no secret about loving the thigh high stockings when she wore them, pressing kisses to the lace cuffs at the top before moving up over her heated flesh. When his mouth closed over her mound Chris gasped and Bucky was right there, capturing her cries and gasps in his mouth as he kissed her senseless.

While Steve's mouth was magic, when his fingers came back into play, she found herself quickly on the edge. He knew just how to gently rub that spot inside her that drove her wild while his tongue worked her clit with a delicacy that had her losing her mind. Bucky was all too happy to hold her still for Steve, stealing her breath with enticing kisses.

The orgasm wrecked her, leaving her a shaking mess beneath them. Steve eased her down, pressing a kiss to her tummy.

"I'm not done with you yet, Sweetheart," Steve warned her in a heated way that was little out of character for him. But she loved it.

Steve then pounced on Bucky who groaned madly at having Steve's weight on him, he loved that, and the taste of Chris on his lips. Steve roughly yanked off Bucky's sweater, scrambled to pull off his jeans. He didn't let Bucky push them past his thighs when he got his mouth on him, swallowing Bucky down as their dark-haired lover just scrambled to hold on.

"Jesus, Steve." Bucky was fighting for breath while Steve's cheeks hollowed out, working his cock for all he was worth. When Steve groaned deeply, she thought Bucky would come then and there but somehow he held on.

Chris slid up to Bucky, her fingers teasing his nipples as she pressed kisses around his neck and chest. He grabbed her chin and claimed her mouth for a sensual kiss as Steve continued to take him apart.

"Steve, baby," he struggled to speak against Chris's lips, "I'm… "

Steve groaned again and that pushed Bucky over the edge. He held onto Steve's hair, working his hips as Steve took everything he had and swallowed it down.

Rising from the bed, Steve's attention turned back to Chris and her core tightened at the aggression he didn't normally use. Yeah, he'd devastated Bucky, but he knew that wouldn't last long. Quickly he pulled off his jeans before climbing up the bed, situating several pillows against the headboard before sitting with his back pressed against it.

"Come here, Sweetheart," he bid her, his blue eyes blazing.

Chris crawled up to him and was surprised when he clutched her dress and pulled it over her head, leaving her bare except for her stockings and she knew he wanted those left on.

His hand was working his cock, his breath coming fast. Chris was thinking she wanted to get her mouth on him, but he shook his head. Picking her up as if she weighed nothing, he situated her over his lap.

"Ride me," he whispered.

Chris did technically. She loved the burn as he pressed into her, opening her up to fill her in a way that had her body craving release. When they began to move, with his hands on her hips, he did most of the work for her and she  _did_  enjoy watching those muscles work as he moved her up and down the impressive length of his cock.

It didn't take much for Chris to reach the edge. All she could really do was hold on as he moved her as he wanted, leaning forward to tease her breasts with his lips as he did. He brought her off once, twice. When he showed no signs of slowing down after the second time, Chris pressed her hands to his chest to get his attention.

"Need a break?" he asked gently.

Chris nodded, panting. "I can…" and she reached for his cock as he slid out of her.

Steve claimed her mouth for a kiss before he pulled back, his gaze landing on Bucky who laid on his side watching them, his cock hard and ready in his metal hand.

To Chris, that was  _so_  hot.

Gently Steve put Chris in his place, with the pillows and headboard at her back, and reached into his nightstand for lube. Bucky's eyes gleamed in anticipation because he had an idea what Steve meant to do.

Bucky grinned in delight as Steve manhandled him onto his stomach, pretty much between Chris's still quivering thighs. Then his mouth went slack, his eyes closed as Steve began working him open with his fingers and then… his mouth.

Chris had never seen either of them do that before. When they loved each other, it usually seemed very tame compared to  _this_. Oh, she wasn't complaining. Watching had her body humming in excitement which didn't really seem possible given the three orgasms she'd already had.

"Fuck," Bucky gasped out as Steve worked him, determined about it.

Slowly Bucky's blue eyes slid open and his gaze moved greedily over Chris's form. She'd pulled her knees up and together but he wasn't having that. Bucky gently grabbed her ankles, pulling them apart and down the bed to put her center right where he wanted, in front of his face.

"My turn, doll baby," he whispered.

Behind him, Steve groaned his approval. The wet sounds that filled the room were filthy and Bucky had her about to come again in no time, but he backed off each time just before she reached that point, leaving her crying out in frustration.

"I'm going to take care of you, doll baby," he promised.

Bucky pulled her down the bed and beneath him, forcing Steve to adjust his movements but they made it work. Chris was on edge as Bucky pressed slowly into her, filling her again while Steve still worked his fingers into Bucky's ass.

Despite Steve tormenting him, Bucky was careful with her, keeping his movements smooth and gentle, taking care to keep his weight off her. He dipped his head to take her breast into his mouth as he moved within her, his cock rock hard and filling her up.

Steve sat up to watch them, his hands still working Bucky but his gaze on Chris as Bucky fucked her between them, his movements gaining speed. When his metal hand slid between them to gently rub at her clit, that was all that she needed. Chris cried out as the orgasm swept her away for the moment.

When she came back to the world, the entire bed was shaking and her with it. Bucky was pressed face down on the mattress and Steve's cock was buried in his ass, pounding him in a way that alarmed her at first, but that Bucky apparently loved if the way he was clutching the sheets and moaning were any indication. Steve held him down with a powerful hand at the back of his neck, looking blissed out as he appeared to be nearing his release. It occurred to her that this was likely how they were when she wasn't around.

Steve's gaze moved back and forth between her and Bucky. Emotionally he was gauging her reaction, wanting her to be okay with how her two men were with each other.

It was brutally hot. Chris had impossibly come four times, had Bucky's come leaking from between her own thighs. Chris moved a hand down to her slightly sore folds and felt it, Steve's eyes were riveted on the play of her fingers.

Steve's emotions were a wicked blend of elation and shame as he watched. She'd known early on that Bucky had some kinks, but Steve had always downplayed his, at least around her.

Bucky turned his head toward her, groaning as he watched her roll onto her side. Chris was inviting them to see more. She may be done but she really wanted to wind them up. Keeping her top leg propped up and open, she pulled her other knee up to give them a good view.

Chris used her slim fingers to toy with her folds, to dip into what Bucky had left inside her.

"Bucky came  _so_  much, Steve," she whispered, holding Steve's heated gaze. His hips didn't cease slamming into Bucky as he watched, but his motions were becoming erratic. "Look at it all."

And Steve could see  _very_  well what she was doing, groaning and pushing into Bucky even harder.

"When you make him come again, will it  _be_  this much?" Chris asked Steve in a low voice.

Steve startled her when he grabbed her wrist, sucking those fingers into his mouth. Groaning at the taste, he lunged forward, grabbing a pillow and shoving it under her hips and dragged her where he wanted her as he continued to fuck into Bucky. Angling himself, he pinned down her lower body and began cleaning her up with his mouth, his tongue working to get everything Bucky had left as he continued to fuck him senseless.

Watching that, Bucky came hard. Chris couldn't see but she sure as hell felt his bliss as Steve continued to eat her out until she was a quivering mess on the edge of release. The smooth strokes of his tongue inside of her finished her off as she screamed this time, the sound blistering in the quiet room.

"Steve," Bucky pleaded beneath him, looking so blissed out he didn't appear to even know what he was pleading for.

"Give me one more," Steve ordered him in his Captain's voice and  _that_  really had Chris wishing she wasn't completely spent. She remembered the night when Bucky was on mission and Steve had told her that he wanted to try both of them being inside of her, had ordered her around…

Bucky's cry was muffled in the bedding as he came. Steve didn't even let him come down before pounding into his hard, finally finding his own release and Chris marveled at how long he'd held on for that.

Chris dozed even though she was aware of movement around her. She opened her eyes when Bucky gently lifted her from the bed, carrying her into the bathroom and turning on the shower. He looked exhausted but happy as he washed them up, gently washing her hair and somehow keeping her on her feet at the same time.

The bed had been changed by the time Bucky had her dry and dressed in one of Steve's shirts. They were cuddled up together and dozing when Steve came back from his shower and joined them in bed naked, something else he didn't often do.

Chris was liking the changes.

"After all that," Chris murmured, "I think Stevie should be in the middle. Don't you, Buck?"

Steve actually blushed as he climbed up on the bed and they snuggled up on either side of them.

"Was that… good?"

Bucky laughed. "That was fucking amazing, Pal. I'm ready to sleep for the next  _week._ "

Chris hummed her agreement. "I'll never question your plan again, Captain."

Before too long Bucky was snoring on the other side of Steve, she was dozing. Chris smiled at one point, Steve had turned on his football games.

"Sweetheart, was that too rough for you?" Steve asked after a while. "I was just thinking maybe we should be more careful now…"

Her heart broke a little that he was so worried about being himself.

"It was perfect, Steve." Stretching up, she pressed a kiss to the corner of his mouth. "Just like you."

"I don't want to be perfect," he told her. "I just want to be what you both want."

"You're what we both want and  _need_ ," she whispered. "You are. You'll make a really good father."

Steve's smile was beautiful as he rolled to face her, placing his hand gently over her tummy.

"I'd given up on thinking I'd ever get this chance," he whispered.

Chris placed her hand over his, basking in those emotions and drifting off into a deep sleep.


	32. Chapter 32

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yep. Finally made it home on time for once and am putting out a chapter hopefully before you go to bed. lol

Steve awoke before dawn as he normally did, thinking about going running today. He didn’t think there was much a chance that Buck would go with him but maybe.

They’d been on Thanksgiving break for the last four days. Chris lay sprawled on her stomach between them and that made him smile. She’d slept curled up in a ball for weeks after they’d gotten her back. To see her reverting back to how she always slept before the kidnapping had him smiling.

Bucky, however, wasn’t curled around her as usual. He was on his side facing the other way. That was new.

Then Steve saw the light from his phone.

“Buck? You awake?”

“Yeah.”

Turning onto his back, he grinned at Steve. “Going running?”

Steve nodded. “You in?”

“We can’t _both_ go running.”

Steve quirked a brow at him. “We can’t?”

Bucky shook his head. “One of us has to stay and take care of our girl. You would know that if you hadn’t been sleeping in like a punk for the last three days.”

That had Steve grinning. They’d eaten, watched football, played video games, had _lots_ of sex. And Steve had slept in like he rarely allowed himself, waking up late morning.

But both of them were always there with him and everything had seemed fine…

Steve was confused but then Chris began to stir between them.

When she scrambled to the edge of the bed and ran like hell for the bathroom, he looked to Bucky in question. Bucky was already up, following her into the bathroom.

Steve’s heart dropped to see her throwing up over the toilet, Bucky holding back her hair with his metal hand while his other hand smoothed up and down her back, trying to comfort her.

When it finally stopped, Bucky had a washcloth ready to clean her face, he had a glass of ice water there. Steve shook his head even as his heart beat just a little harder. Taking care of others had always came naturally to James Buchanan Barnes. He’d taken care of Steve for so many years.

There on her knees, Chris glanced over her shoulder and spotted him leaning in the doorway. Then she shook her head. “Great. Now both of you are going to watch me barf every morning?” she huffed out.

Steve dropped into the floor next to her, wrapping his arms around her shaking form.

“Not that I know a lot about pregnancy stuff but, isn’t it _early_ for morning sickness?” he had to ask.

Chris nodded. “I thought so. We’ll see what Helen says. She’ll be here tomorrow.”

“Good,” Steve pressed a kiss into her hair. The idea of a run out of his head, he gently helped her up from the floor. “You done?”

Chris nodded, her face washed of all color.

“How about you get a shower and I’ll make you some breakfast?”

Bucky shook his head behind her as she stared at him incredulously. “No,” she said simply. “I can’t.”

“Would you try?” Steve use what she called his “sad puppy” expression on her. “For me?”

“I won’t be able to keep it down,” she warned him.

“But you’ll try?”

“Fine, stop with the face already,” she grumbled while Bucky laughed behind her.

Leaving them to shower, Steve headed into the kitchen and got started. By the time Chris and Bucky wandered out, showered and dressed, he mostly had everything ready.

“Oh my God, Rogers,” Bucky started laughing. “You’re making her Dum Dum’s hangover breakfast?”

“What?” Chris looked about both of them in question.

Steve had to laugh along with him. “Worked for him, didn’t it?”

“He was fucking hungover not knocked up,” Bucky pointed out and Chris swatted him on the back of the head.

“And _who_ knocked me up?” she wanted to know.

“Jury’s out on that right now, doll,” Bucky taunted her, this time dodging when she tried to slug him. “Hey, I’m sorry. It’s just… Really?”

It was a huge breakfast sandwich with eggs, cheddar cheese, and a ton of bacon. Chris had pointed out more than once how they had a tendency to always make food in portions for super soldiers, even for her, but as she eyed it, her humor started to fade.

“So you remember some of that?” Steve asked, thinking that he and Bucky hadn’t talked a lot about the Howling Commando days, mostly because Bucky didn’t remember a lot of it. Was it coming back to him now?

Chris reached across the counter to grab the sandwich while Bucky seemed to consider that for a moment. “You know, I think I am. I was thinking the other day in the armory about Dernier and the crazy shit he used to do. How the hell did he never blow himself up?”

Steve _was_ listening to Bucky as he remembered the one time Dernier _almost_ did blow himself up because he was drunk and thought it would be a good idea to brag about his explosives prowess while he was. Steve had barely gotten the grenade out of the tent on time.

Steve was also keeping an eye on Chris who was doing actual damage to the breakfast he’d made her, putting it away as if she hadn’t eaten in a couple of days. He felt bad that he’d made her sandwich as big as he had but she wasn’t letting it stop her.

“Did I have that right?” Bucky’s eye were wide on him and Steve couldn’t help but smile.

“Every bit of it, Pal.”

Steve was convinced that Bucky was flourishing now that they all lived together. Bucky had a home, was part of a family of people who loved him, accepted him. He seemed a little more like the Bucky he grew up with – and fell in love with – every day. “Seems like you’re remembering more and more from the old days.”

Bucky looked pleased, searching his mind for other memories.

Steve tried hard not to laugh. Chris had gotten halfway through the sandwich before she’d pulled It apart and was happily picking out the bacon and eating that.

“I remembered something from before the war the other day,” Bucky told him, growing more serious. “Something about a neighbor we had in the old apartment. A little old lady. Ugh. What was her name?”

“Mrs. Townsend,” Steve told him. “We used to carry her groceries upstairs for her. Remember?”

Bucky nodded. “She had that nasty cat. God, he _hated_ me.”

Steve nodded. The enormous brown tabby had hated Bucky but only because he never stopped to pet it while they were up there. Steve always had, and it had liked him just fine.

Steve got back to work to make breakfast for himself and Bucky while they were reminiscing, more happy than he could say that Chris was maybe about two-thirds of the way through her sandwich.

“Doll, Jesus,” Bucky laughed behind him. “Where did _that_ go?”

She’d grabbed a fork and was finishing off the egg and cheese now. She didn’t even look up at them. “This is _so_ good.”

“Huh,” Bucky looked from her to Steve and back. “Maybe she was so sick because she was hungry? Or the little guy was? Think you’ll be able to keep it down, doll?”

“Hope so.”

They had a nice breakfast, relaxing and entertaining Chris with stories from their younger years. She’d laughed so much there was color back in her face.

Steve couldn’t help but think in that moment that he was _happy_ in a way he hadn’t been since they’d pulled him from the ice.

Having Bucky back, and being free to love him, was a gift. Now there was Chris and miraculously she loved them both. She was having their baby.

Slowly he realized, all the things he thought were out of reach were coming to him. Before Bucky had been lost, he’d been in love with him, but he’d known there was no way he could be with Buck, not openly. And giving up marriage, children? He’d been perfectly willing to do that, if he could have the man he loved. When Peggy came along, it had changed his thinking, made him want everything.

Now here he was again. Why _couldn’t_ he have everything?

Chris filled in the gaps they couldn’t fill in for each other and soon their family would expand. The only thing that left was marriage and it wasn’t a huge issue to the world now. Not as it had been in the 40’s.

Steve had given some thought to that. He had a couple of ideas, but he wanted to wait until Chris was feeling better and maybe once they’d dealt with the issue of Ross.

Then he wanted them to make some sort of promise, all three of them. He wanted it acknowledged even if it was just the three of them, that they were _his_. Maybe he was old-fashioned but…

Steve went back to get a shower since Bucky offered to clean up the kitchen. He checked his phone first and the text message he had stopped him cold. It had been received only ten minutes ago.

Tony: Ross is here.

Steve’s jaw locked as he sent a message back.

SR: Where?

Tony: A meeting at 10. Be there.

SR: I’ll be there.

Steve took the phone with him. Not that either Chris or Bucky even thought about his phone, but he decided then and there not to say anything. They’d had the best several days since Thanksgiving. Ross had done enough to his best guy and girl, he wasn’t going to let him hurt them further.

Which wasn’t to say _he_ wasn’t going to deal with him.

He most definitely _was_.

Steve threw on some slacks, a dress shirt. He was pulling on his watch as he walked into the living room to see Chris cuddled up on the couch, her head in Bucky’s lap.

“Stomach still okay?” he asked her with a smile.

“Yeah,” Chris sounded surprised. “I haven’t eaten _that_ much in a while but _honestly_ , I feel fine.”

“That’s good, Sweetheart,” Steven bent down to kiss her. Then he kissed Bucky.

“Where you going, Pal?” Bucky asked, his gaze sweeping over him.

“Meeting with Tony.” It wasn’t a lie. “I shouldn’t be too long. What do you want to do when I get back?”

“We could try playing video games again,” Bucky offered, grinning.

“You just want to play goat simulator again,” Chris said chuckling, making their guy blush.

Bucky had played the damn game for two hours the day before.

“Maybe.” Bucky shrugged.

If Bucky picked up anything wrong with Steve leaving for his meeting with Tony, it didn’t show. He told them he’d be back and headed out.

The moment the door was shut, Steve was marching towards the elevator.

Secretary of State or not, the man had sold their girl to a monster in South America who’d beaten her like an animal and had caused her to lose a child. _Their_ child.

Thaddeus Ross _was_ going to pay for that.

Fury, Tony, and Ross were already in the conference room when Steve walked in. Fury and Tony watched him as he took a seat across the table from them. Ross had claimed the seat at the table’s head, but his back was to them and he appeared to be typing something out on his phone.

When he turned around, Ross’s gaze immediately found Steve. His smile didn’t reach his eyes.

“Rogers. Thank you for gracing us with your presence.”

Steve wasn’t going to take the bait.

“What can we do for you Mr. Secretary?” Fury was barely polite.  

“Project Insight? Ring any bells?”

That got Steve’s attention.

What had started out as a S.H.I.E.L.D. program, and an ill-advised one at that, had been taken over by HYDRA and made ten times worse back in 2014. With the help of Natasha, Fury, Hill, and Sam, they’d been able to stop it before twenty million people were eliminated.

S.H.I.E.L.D. had crumbled from the inside. Fury had nearly been killed.  Steve had the hell beaten out of him by Bucky who’d eventually pulled him out of the Potomac and saved his life.

It _had_ set Bucky free from HYDRA. That was the only good thing about it.

“It does,” Fury replied.

“Are you aware of what happened to all the data from that project in the aftermath?” Ross asked them, the smirk on his face giving Steve a bad feeling. “No? As you know, there are many HYDRA operatives still out there, still functioning. The loss of Pierce was great, but it didn’t stop them for long.”

Steve hadn’t expected that it had.

“It’s not an incredible surprise that there were other copies of Zola’s algorithm,” Ross continued. “We have intel that suggests that the project has been resumed since that failure in 2014.”

Fury snorted. “We had the backing of the US in building those helicarriers in 2014. Who’s _backing_ this attempt?”

“A small private group, some of the surviving financial backers of HYDRA,” Ross explained. “We knew they had the intel from the project. What we didn’t know, was that they were able to resume and accelerate the program so quickly.”

“How far along are they?” Tony asked.

“Their new and improved versions of the helicarriers are in production,” Ross said gravely.

“So we take out their operation,” Fury reasoned. “Is this an official assignment?”

Ross shrugged before cutting his gaze at Steve. “Our military could take out their helicarrier operation but that would draw attention. There’s also the problem of the algorithm and the plans. That’s where your plan fell through in 2014, isn’t it? You stopped them. You plucked out the weed, but you didn’t pull it out root and stem. And like all the strongest weeds, it’s grown back.”

Steve’s fists clenched under the table. Not only was the bastard disregarding the operation that saved twenty million people that day, he was moving in a direction that Steve didn’t want to go.

Tony’s gaze met his and he just knew his friend had reached the same conclusion. “So you want us to track the algorithm, any and all copies of it, and eliminate it, right?”

“That’s the only way the issue will be resolved, isn’t it?” Ross replied. “It must all be destroyed along with any and all plans whether from 2014 or since for how to deploy it.”

“I’ll take it,” Tony offered tightly. “I kind of have to, right? I’m the only one with the money and know-how to pull that sort of cyber infiltration off without having to go to congressional committees for funding.”

Ross chuckled. “I’m not just handing this over to the Avengers, Stark. I _will_ be managing it. And yes, your resources will be useful but on tracking down Zola’s algorithm, I’m not sure _you’re_ the best qualified to handle cyber infiltration on that level. But you have Danforth and I think she has the skill set to pull it off.”

Tony’s gaze flew to Steve.

Steve was done. Rising from the chair, he had the satisfaction of watching Ross step back. “No.”

Ross smirked at him. “She’s part of the Avengers Initiative and as such, she’s mine to put on this assignment if I choose to.”

“Actually, she works for Stark Industries,” Tony rose from his chair, color rising in his face. “Her contract clearly states that she’s _not_ part of the Initiative as per the wishes of Director Fury and  Director Crenshaw of the FBI.”

And Steve. It had been his idea to legally keep her out of the initiative when she’d been compromised and had been given over to the Avengers for safekeeping.

“I’ll want a copy of that contract,” Ross told him.

“And you’ll need a court order to do that,” Fury said grinning. “She’s a private citizen.”

Ross’s face darkened. “Here’s what’s going to happen. We’re going to track down every copy of that fucking algorithm and destroy them along with any plans there have ever been to implement them. We will also be going to Siberia to stop and destroy any and all progress they’ve made on new helicarriers and any weaponry curated for the purpose of execution. And we will use whoever we need to in order to get it done. Your girlfriend, Rogers, is a cyberterrorist whether you want to admit it or not who has familiarity with this type of operation. Your _boyfriend_ has intimate knowledge of Siberia and how operations like this would be put together there. Am I in any way unclear?”

Steve was so furious he nearly choked on it. Particularly the ugly emphasis he’d placed on the word _boyfriend_.

“And they are the _only_ ones with such knowledge? Because I find that a little hard to believe,” Steve told him coldly, barely keeping himself in check.

Ross shrugged. “No, but they are available to us, aren’t they?”

Steve shook his head, his amazement at the lengths Ross was going to in his quest to get back at him growing by the minute.

“Guess it’s a good thing that Bucky wasn’t committed as you wanted when we pulled him out of Romania,” Steve spat. “And it’s a really good thing you didn’t succeed in killing Chris.”

Fury and Tony stared at him with wide eyes, looking unable to believe he’d addressed the 400-pound gorilla in the room.

“Truth be told, Barnes would probably be better off in an institution,” Ross said. “As long as he is of some use, he can remain. As for Danforth…”

Steve couldn’t wait to hear this.

“I think it’s pathetic that you’re making such baseless allegations because of what some trafficker allegedly told her.” Ross shook his head but didn’t get _too_ close to Steve. “I think you’re getting paranoid in your senior years, Rogers.”

Steve wanted to put his fist through the man’s face. A muscle at Tony’s jaw twitched.

“I will be back on Monday and by then, I expect you’ll have a plan put together here. There will be a cyber strike and there will be a ground strike. You will take down the resurrection of Project Insight and I will be kept up to date on every bit of progress. Any questions?”

They had no choice but to assist him considering his position in the government.

Ross grabbed up his files and headed for the conference room door.

“We choose the strike team members and the plan, Ross,” Steve said flatly.

“I know you will.” Ross stopped and turned around, smirking at them. “I’m sure you knew a few names on the algorithm list from last time. Stark was on there along with Bruce Banner, Stephen Strange, and yourself, Captain Rogers. All still on there. But there are some new names on the list according to our intel. Peter Parker did very well on his SATs. Another one of the new names is one Agent Christine Danforth. Somewhere along the way, the algorithm reached the same conclusion that I did. That she’s a threat. I know you’ll do an _excellent_ job.”

Ross slammed out of the conference room.

Steve fought to keep his anger under control. “Tony? Can _you_ track down the algorithm and the plans as the bastard wants?”

Tony scrubbed a hand down his face. “I _could_. Would I be able to do it in a 72-hour window? I doubt it.”

“And Chris could?” Steve wanted to know.

Tony blew out a frustrated exhale. And then he nodded.

_Fuck._

“Is there anything we can do to stop it? To keep her out of it?”

Neither Tony nor Fury said anything. Their silence was all the answer he needed.

To make matters worse, Bucky did know Siberia. There would be no keeping him out of the ground strike. Ross had them right where he wanted them. And on top of that, he’d flat out lied about selling Chris to one of her former enemies.

All of this to strike at Steve for making him look bad?

“Sorry, Cap. If there’s anything I can think of or figure out to keep at least Chris out of it, you know I will.”

Steve did know. “If she does end up in this, I don’t want Ross to lay eyes on her. I mean it.”

“I completely agree, Steve.”

Fury shook his head. “The holiday is over. We’ll meet back here in the morning at 9 to go start planning. You might as well bring Danforth with you.”

Steve nodded before leaving the conference room.

Once outside, he leaned against the wall and tried to steady himself. Chris was going to realize he was upset if he wasn’t careful. Bucky could read him better than her sometimes without any special ability. He wanted one more day with them. One more day before the world broke back in and threatened their happiness.

The only thing he knew for certain was that he wouldn’t allow anyone or anything touch either of them. Nor their child.

Steve didn’t care what he had to do.

 

***

 

Chris read an ebook on her phone while Bucky played Assassin’s Creed next to her on the couch, having a complete blast. Okay, she was mostly _pretending_ the read. One of the first things she’d done when she returned to the compound was to set up some private surveillance for herself around the compound.

When Steve had headed out for his meeting with Tony, she’d felt something off. It hadn’t taken her long to figure out what it was. The feed she’d siphoned off from the conference room showed her that Steve had indeed met with Tony. And Fury.

And Ross.

She knew the bastard would turn up eventually and from their guy’s body language, whatever the meeting had been about, it had him furious. She’d go back and listen to the audio later.

Chris knew it had to do with her. Or Bucky. Or her _and_ Bucky.

No matter. It might provide her with the opportunity she needed to strike back at Ross and punish him for costing her the life of her child. If not, there would be another. Chris could be incredibly patient.

For the moment, she would keep her discovery to herself.

Putting her phone down, she snuggled up to Bucky as much as she could with him wielding the game controller.

Steve strolled in just a couple of minutes later and oh, she could feel all that anger below the surface, seething.

It lessened greatly as he took in the scene. It was hard not to be amused by watching _the_ Winter Soldier play a video game where he was an _assassin_.

“He been playing that the entire time?” Steve bent down to kiss the top of her head.

Chris had to laugh. “Mostly.”

“Now that you’re back, we could race cars again,” Bucky told him without taking his attention away from his game.

Steve’s smile didn’t reach his eyes, but he shrugged. “Let me get changed.”

Steve didn’t want to say anything, not right now, even though she could feel his emotions, a blend of anger, frustration and a myriad of other feelings he was trying so hard to hold in.

He sat on the edge of their bed with his head in his hands when she walked in and he had to have heard her but he didn’t move.

“Are you okay?” Chris asked, stopping before him and sinking her hands into his hair.

“Yeah,” he said without looking up. “Just give me a few minutes.”

When Chris wrapped her arms around his shoulders, she really meant to hold him for a moment and let it go. He’d talk to them when he was ready and by then she would have already watched the feed.

Steve’s head lifted, his blue eyes filled with love, desire, dread, fear and for a moment he looked… lost. There wasn’t any other word for it.

Carefully, Steve grabbed her around the hips and pressed her onto her back on the bed, kissing the breath out of her as he continued to undress.

“You tell me to stop if you need to, okay?” he ordered breathlessly.

“I will,” she got out in between kisses.

“God, I just… I need you right now,” Steve told her. “Need both of you…”

Steve had undressed and was yanking off Chris’s shirt, working on her bra when Bucky wandered back there.

“You got naked without me?” he asked, chuckling.

Steve rose, stalking over to Bucky and kissing him deeply until Bucky was as breathless as she was. Then he yanked him over the bed as well.

It was a frenzy as Steve went from kissing one to the other, working on their clothes as he went along.

Finally, Bucky stopped him, pressing his flesh hand to Steve’s face.

“What do you need, Stevie?” he asked gently, realizing now something had gotten into him. “Tell me. Anything at all. Right, doll?”

Chris nodded eagerly.

“Just need you… both,” Steve got out. “Want you both.”

Bucky nodded, heading for Steve’s bedside table and pulling out lube before heading back to where Steve had Chris caged to the bed and she was holding on for dear life.

“Is our girl where you want her?” Bucky asked.

Steve nodded as he lowered himself down her body, throwing her legs over his shoulders and diving in. He’d gotten her worked up fast, the heat pooling in her belly making her a little crazy as he worked her over with his mouth and fingers.

Bucky planted himself behind Steve and from the small whines and groans he made, muffled between her thighs, she just knew Bucky was working him open.

“We’ve got you, Stevie,” Bucky soothed him. “You’ll be inside doll baby and I’ll be inside you. We’ll make this so good for you.”

Chris cried out when Steve made it so good for _her_ and he didn’t let up or give her a minute to catch her breath. He pulled her beneath him, lining himself up at her entrance and pushing in with an urgency that had her insides clenching in desire. Chris hung on to him, moaning as she felt herself stretch around him.

Steve’s eyes were closed. “Yes… God, yes. Your pussy feels so good… like nothing else.”

Chris opened her eyes when he bottomed out to see Bucky painting the back of his neck and shoulders with wet kisses.

“She feels like heaven,” Bucky told him before winking at Chris. “So do you.”

And with that he began pushing into Steve.

Steve kept his weight off Chris but lingered just above her on his forearms, stealing kisses from her lips as Bucky began to thrust for both of them. Steve groaned into her mouth, shuddered against her as they worked together to find a rhythm that Bucky was driving.

“How you feeling, Stevie?” Bucky rasped out above them.

“Want to stay here…” Steve huffed out. “Want you both… always…”

“You’re always going to have us,” Chris told him, her heart clenching as she realized she meant it. “Always.”

It wasn’t long until Steve’s thrusts within her grew erratic and finally he shouted out as he came between them, struggling to breathe. Bucky’s thrusts grew in intensity until he joined came too, pushing them with Steve still inside her. He came hard, falling off to their side and taking Steve with him when he was done, lying on his back and coming down.

Chris smiled thinking it wasn’t a bad way to spend the afternoon. She was still worked up, so she quietly slid her hand over her body, finding her clit and stroking it the way she liked. She wouldn’t need much.

“We suck, Rogers,” Bucky grumbled. “Neither of us took care of our girl. Look.”

“Sorry, Sweetheart,” Steve whispered as he moved Chris as he wanted and buried his face between her thighs again as Bucky reached over with this metal hand to stroke her clit because he knew how much she liked that.

Steve worked her with his mouth and kissed Bucky too as Chris quickly unraveled, writhing beneath them and having to push them both away when they kept teasing her.

All them laid together for long minutes and Chris felt content. Apparently, Steve had let whatever was coming go too and that was good. They’d enjoy the night together and tomorrow they’d face whatever storm was coming.

Chris smiled, placed her hand over her tummy.

She planned to be the worst storm Ross _ever_ faced.


	33. Chapter 33

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for all the kind comments and kudos. You guys are the best!

Since it was time to get back to work, and not just for Stark Industries today, Chris wanted to be ready.

Bucky got up with her for her morning barf. They took a shower together with Bucky doing everything he could to entice her into a round of shower sex, but she gently put him off. She stayed so tired with the pregnancy, even that early, that she knew if she did that, she'd go to bed instead of work.

Steve came back from his run to make her the same breakfast she'd enjoyed the day before and once she finished it, her stomach settled, and she felt better. Steve tried to stick around to make sure she ate all of it and she just knew he was  _so_  happy that he'd been able to help her with all the morning sickness business in his own way.

Bucky begged her to return to the apartment after the meeting. There wasn't anything she couldn't do up there, he reasoned. Well, according to Steve, Ross wasn't going to be there so she decided to take her chances.

She was going to be ready.

Chris picked out a pantsuit in dark gray, it made her eyes look darker, and she put herself together as if she were going back to the bureau. Honestly, it  _did_  make her feel better. She pulled on low pumps, sedate silver jewelry. Her hair and makeup were professional.

Chris smiled as she grabbed her new laptop and her briefcase and headed for the meeting.

Nat, the only one in the conference room when she arrived, looked up and grinned when she walked in. "You look  _great_ ," Nat told her. "How are you feeling?"

"Trying not to let morning sickness get the best of me," Chris admitted. "I'm okay."

The beautiful spy watched as she got her laptop started.

"You ready for this?" Nat asked.

The sincerity in the beautiful spy's eyes moved her. The sincerity of her emotions nearly moved her to tears. Not only to have such a woman as a friend but to be part of their family here. Outside of Aunt Jenny, Chris had never been part of a big family. She decided moving forward to spend more time with them and less time hiding.

Someone placed a cup from the food court in front of her. Chris smiled up at Phil.

"Your soda," he told her, knowing she hated coffee right now but needed caffeine.

"Can you  _have_  that?" Nat quirked a brow at her.

"Not you too." Chris blew out an exhale as another larger metal hand snatched up her cup.

"What's this?" Bucky asked, gently shaking it to hear the crushed ice in there. "Soda? Can you  _have_  that?"

Chris snatched it back while Steve snickered behind him.

"Yes. I. Can." She told them with feeling.

"Great, now that Bob the Builder is here for the meeting," Tony said as he walked down to the head of the table, "let's get the show on the road."

"Bob who?" Steve asked.

Chris shook her head. She'd explain it later.

Sam wandered in, letting his gaze roam over her before he winked playfully. Bucky stared him down the entire time, so Sam succeeded in riling  _him_  up.

Yeah, she needed this.

Clint, Bruce, Vision, Wanda, and Maria filtered in slowly and Chris took a deep breath, feeling more confident than she had in while. This was familiar.

This was  _her_  arena.

Chris took a seat at the opposite end of the table with Steve and Bucky on either side of her. She started up her laptop and Tony began going over the intel he'd gathered and the ideas he had about HYDRA's attempt to resurrect Project Insight. As usual, the others had ideas, brought up issues with what was being discussed, brought up unaddressed issues. It was a highly constructive meeting.

In the end, she and Tony got into a back and forth about what it would take to track down the algorithm copies, any plans. Her boys were listening so intently to every bit of it even though she knew a lot of it was over their heads. Bucky kept glancing up at her with something like admiration in his steel blue eyes and it had her heart clenching in her chest. To have the admiration of someone like  _him_? Well, that was no small thing.

Steve was a different story. It wasn't that he wasn't proud of her. He looked concerned that she'd make some plan to sacrifice herself but say it in computer nerd terms, so he wouldn't immediately understand it. Steve watched her like a hawk when she was outside of their apartment.

When the meeting adjourned, Tony held up a hand to Chris. "Stay."

Chris nodded.

"Why?" Bucky muttered.

"Another meeting with Fury," Steve explained.

"Everyone isn't needed for this one," Tony told Bucky.

"I'm staying," Bucky said flatly.

"Suit yourself."

Phil came down to Chris as they waited, wanting to go over a couple of notes on the computer files that Tony had sent her. Steve and Bucky quietly talked until Fury showed up, he and Tony joining them at her end of the table.

"I hear congratulation are in order," Fury said to Chris.

"You heard right," she said with a grin. "Thank you."

Fury nodded. Then they continued the conversation about the online onslaught involved in their plan, the parts that Tony and Chris would play in tracking down Project Insight.

"What I need to know is when the search will begin," Fury said slowly.

"After this meeting," Tony told him. "I'll help Chris with it but as Ross pointed out, I'm  _not_  as experienced with this arena."

Steve and Bucky wore nearly matching scowls.

"And will they be able to trace it back to you?" Steve was direct.

"Not if I do it right," Chris told him confidently, willing them to believe her, to have faith in her. "And keep in mind, the targets and programs? They won't be online for the taking. Most of the copies I find will be on remote servers in even more remote places. It's going to take time. It might even take weeks."

"Ross isn't going to give us that," Fury let her know. "So you'd best move quickly."

"And carefully," Steve added.

Chris nodded. As if she needed to be told that. It went without saying that she'd be careful.

"What about the plans to track down their production?" Chris asked.

Fury nodded, laying a folder on the table in front of them. There were maps, pictures of what looked like an abandoned factory. Chris noticed the recognition on Bucky's face before she ever felt his emotions take a leap.

"I know that place," he told them. "I think I was there for a time."

"Really?" Steve asked. "Do remember the layout of the building?"

Bucky really concentrated and after a couple of moments, he slowly nodded. "Some. I seem to remember a lot about the lowest layer. It's deep. There's only one floor above the ground, I think, but many below it."

Placing a hand on his shoulder, Chris smiled. "I'll see if I can dig up any blueprints or architecture drafts on it and we can go over it."

Bucky nodded. "Yeah, that would be good."

Fury nodded, seeming pleased with that as was Steve.

"Ideally, the targets and plans should be eliminated before we move against their production site, but something tells me Ross isn't going to give us that time," Fury explained. "Chris, do your best to find any of it as quickly as you can. I'll try to hold him off as long as I can."

Chris nodded her agreement.

"See if you can find plans for that and review it with Barnes. Any intel would be useful."

"Absolutely," Chris told him.

"Have you seen Dr. Cho yet?" Fury asked her.

"This afternoon," Chris told him.

Fury nodded. "The fewer people who know about your pregnancy, the better for obvious reasons. Outside of the group from Thanksgiving, does anyone else know?"

Again, the stupid tears came on and Chris was blinking them back. "The only family I have is my Aunt Jenny and I haven't gotten to talk to her in over a year."

Chris hated the way her voice shook, hated the way they were all looking at her with sympathy. Including Fury, damn him.

"Who am I going to tell?" she wanted to know.

Chris closed her laptop and gathered her things as quickly as she could with shaking hands.

"Is that all?" she asked.

"That's all, Danforth," Fury said quietly.

Chris scrambled out the door heading for her office, hoping she could keep from bursting into tears before she reached it.

 

* * *

 

 

"What the hell was  _that_?" Steve demanded, rising to his full height and stepping towards Fury.

Fury stood his ground, holding Steve's gaze with his good eye. "I needed to stress to Danforth and the rest of you that it's in everyone's best interest for as few people as possible to know about her pregnancy."

"That was not the appropriate way to go about it," Steve shot back. "Not in this meeting. Not in front of any of us. She's a member of this team. She deserved more respect than that."

Bucky's glare at Fury told they were in agreement on the issue. Fury dropped his head. "I see your point. I'll apologize… later. I can see how that could be taken as offensive though it wasn't my intent."

Steve nodded, accepting that. But he was still pissed off. It was bad enough Fury said what he had with the smaller audience from the second meeting. He knew his girl well enough to know how proud she was, how hard she'd worked to get where she'd gotten.

It was another matter to remind her that she was trapped in the compound and couldn't communicate with her aunt. That had probably not crossed Fury's mind.

"That being said," Fury went on, "you know I'm right. What would some people out there give to get their hands on the child of Captain America? Or the Winter Soldier? Did it ever occur to you that they've been trying to break Erskine's code for decades and if they got their hands on her or that baby, they might succeed?"

Steve  _had_  thought of that. And the safety of their girl and their child was far more important than anything else.

But her happiness mattered too.

"Stark, you'll keep me up to date on any progress made on locating and destroying the plans and the targets," Fury said. "We'll continue to develop plans for the move against the production site and I'll try to hold Ross back as long as I can."

With that Fury, quietly left the room and Phil followed him out, leaving Steve, Tony, and Bucky.

"You think if we find you the plans you could layout that place?" Tony asked Bucky.

Bucky nodded slowly. "I think so."

"I don't have to tell you guys this but take care of Chris," Tony bid them. "She's one of the best in the world at what she does but she gets full-blown obsessed with it… just like I do. Pepper's looked after me for the last few years but… You know what to do."

Steve and Bucky followed him out. Yes, they  _did_  know.

They worked on training with Peter and Wanda before going through the armory and figuring out what they needed as far as ammunition and weapon repairs. Everything had to be right on this mission and Steve was going to do his best to ensure that every "I" was dotted.

When it came to lunchtime, they headed for the food court to get lunch for their girl. Steve wasn't sure just plain mashed potatoes and bread rolls were the best lunch, but he didn't argue when Bucky ordered it. When they reached her office, they found her focused on the laptop before her. So much so that she didn't seem to notice when they came in. She jumped when Bucky gently placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Sorry, doll," he whispered by her ear. "We brought lunch. Want to take a break and eat with us?"

Steve watched as her mind slowed down and she took in his question. Finally, she nodded and smiled.

Steve wasn't happy with the situation. She'd slept well. But already her suit coat had been discarded, her hair was coming down from the way she'd worn it earlier. She was the picture of stress and it couldn't be good for her or the baby.

They got her talking about training with Peter and Wanda, the preparations they were making. Bucky actually had her laughing about the bet he made with Sam about asking out Jeri at the front desk of the compound.

"When are we meeting with Dr. Cho?" Steve wanted to know.

"You want to go?" Chris smiled at each of them. "In… in about an hour. I'm a little nervous."

Bucky placed a hand on hers. "Don't worry. Helen is going to take very good care of you."

"I know she will," Chris told him. "It's just… I've never done this before and here we are with a really high-stress situation and… yeah…"

"We're going to be here with you through the entire thing, Sweetheart," Steve assured her. "Buck's already made me agree that one of us is going to be here at all times as soon as you hit six months."

Chris's smile had his heart squeezing in his chest. "Really? You'd do that for me?"

"It's for us too, doll," Bucky told her. "I'm hoping we'll both be here for the birth, but I want to guarantee at least  _one_  of us will."

"And that's more likely to be you?" Chris teased.

"Sucks to be Cap," Bucky said with a laugh.

"Can you  _really_  do that?" she asked Steve.

"It's not a matter of can I," Steve told her calmly. "I'm going to."

Steve didn't often play the Captain card unless the situation warranted it. And this one did. The relief on her face made him happy, made it worth it.

"Thank you," she told them, meaning it.

"Anything for you." Bucky kept flirting with her through lunch and Steve just tried to stay out of his head and in his heart.

There he sat with his two loves just having lunch. Getting there had been a long road and hard fought. It wasn't hard to remember a time when he yearned for Bucky from afar when he was consumed by jealousy the first week Chris was at the compound and Bucky had pretty much lived in her bed.

He was going to try not to worry so much about all the things that could go wrong and try to be there in the  _now_ , to enjoy it.

They killed some time back in the armory before heading down to medical to meet their girl for her appointment with Dr. Cho.

Chris was already in the exam room with the doctor when they arrived and to Steve, Chris looked so small sitting up on Helen's table as they talked quietly.

"Here they are," Helen said with a smile. "Come in."

Bucky followed him in, both of them kissing Chris before taking a seat.

"I'm not an obstetrician," Dr. Cho started with, "but I will be monitoring the entire pregnancy and I'm here to help in any way I'm needed. There's a doctor coming who is an OBGYN, Dr. Meadows, who will deal with the normal pregnancy visits and who will supervise the birth. She's got excellent credentials and I've got a copy of those for you, Chris."

Chris nodded. She looked nervous.

"So, I have to ask," Helen went on, "we're all one hundred percent sure that we're moving forward with the pregnancy?"

The smile that split Bucky's face when he nodded had him and Chris doing the same. There wasn't a lot Steve liked better than seeing him smile, seeing him happy like that. Steve was so grateful they both were going to have this experience, having a baby, and with someone as wonderful as Chris.

"On the issue of the father," Helen said more carefully. "Have you given that any thought? I know this situation is a little different."

"I don't care which of us it is for my part," Bucky stated, cutting his gaze at Steve. "We may want to know for medical reasons. Steve had really bad asthma as a kid, some other health issues. I don't know if that will be a factor here…"

Helen picked up a clipboard that had a thick pile of papers pinned to it, scanning the pages quickly. Steve's heart raced.

"Hmmm, looking at the records Tony pulled on Steve, I don't think there's going to be an issue there. The serum enhanced everything and that would include your DNA. It would be highly unlikely for any of those ailments you had before the serum to have slipped through to pass on to a child."

Steve released the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. Bucky winked at him and Chris reached out for his hand. And Steve took hers. It was small and cold, trembling in his hand.

Helen gazed at each of them in turn. "That, however, comes with a different set of concerns. Both fathers are enhanced, and that DNA was passed to the child. The baby should be marvelously healthy and that's a good thing."

There was always more.

"We're going to want to keep an eye out for Chris, however," Helen explained. "A half-enhanced baby is likely to be larger than the norm and Chris isn't very big to begin with. I'm going to recommend higher nutritional requirements for you, Chrtheso they baby doesn't start leeching your resources. I'm going to look into prenatal vitamins with Dr. Meadows and see what we want to do there."

"If the baby is too big for her?" Steve wanted to know everything he could.

"We'll have to see how it goes," Helen told him. "Normally, nature doesn't give a mother a baby bigger than she can handle but this is a different situation. The pregnancy can continue as long as she isn't endangered in any way. There's bed rest which is often what happens with mothers of multiple births. Should the baby's size be an issue, we'll hold off as long as we can, but we can always take him or her early if we have to."

Chris's other hand rested on the flat of her tummy. "What if there are more than one in there?"

That got Helen's attention. "You're what? Five weeks?"

"Six," Chris told her.

"We won't be able to determine twins until somewhere between ten and thirteen weeks. So around that time, if you'd like, we can do a transvaginal ultrasound and take a look."

Chris nodded. "I'd like that. Yes."

"How are you feeling?"

"Sick," Chris told her. "Morning sickness for a good two hours each day. At first, I thought it was a psychosomatic thing because I was so wound up about it but I guess not… Isn't it early for morning sickness?"

Helen shrugged. "Not necessarily. It could be that the child  _is_  advanced and it brought an early onset of it. So it does go away?"

Chris tipped her head at Steve. "The last two days he's made me this ridiculously large breakfast sandwich  _thing_  that you wouldn't think I could ever possibly eat but I have, and it  _has_  helped."

Bucky smirked, shaking his head.

"What?" Chris wanted to know.

"I'm the one who got up with you and took care of you when you were sick," he teased, "and punk here gets all the credit for making a sandwich?"

"I'm sorry," Chris meant it. "You know I love you."

Bucky seemed pleased at that.

"So you feel better after eating and it's a large portion." Helen furiously scribbled notes. "Anything else out of the ordinary?"

Chris shook her head. "Not so far."

Helen offered cards to Steve and Bucky. "So you all can reach me at any time, okay?"

They arranged a time for her to meet Dr. Meadows the next week, Helen was going to send them some nutritional guidelines for Chris, Dr. Meadows' information, and then the three of them headed back up the hall. Back to finish out the day.

Bucky ran up to their apartment to shower and order dinner. Steve stopped by Chris's office so he could walk her to the apartment. Fury stopped them as she locked her office door.

Fury held out an old flip phone to Chris and she warily took it.

"Sorry about earlier," Fury grumbled. "When you have a few minutes, dial 9."

And with that Fury walked the other way.

Chris shook her head. They got back to the apartment and she immediately changed into a fuzzy pair of purple pajamas she'd ordered. Their dinner was delivered, and they enjoyed that, Steve encouraging them to eat at the table for at least meal each day.

Afterwards, Chris stood in the living room contemplating the phone Fury gave her. With a steadying breath, Steve watched her open it and dial 9.

Chris nearly burst into tears when someone answered it. "Jenny? It's my  _aunt_. Oh, my God. Hi! Oh, Jenny, I've missed you  _so_  much."

Bucky smiled at him as she dashed into her cave to talk, crying happy tears all the while.

"That was decent of him." Bucky flipped through channels to catch the news. "She's probably going to be in there a while. What are  _you_  doing, handsome?"

Steve took a seat next to him on the couch and placed a hand on one of his heavy thighs.

" _You_. I hope."

Bucky's grin was absolutely wicked.


	34. Chapter 34

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So 7 of you PM'd me wanting to see the Stucky scene from the end of the last chapter when I intended to go on with the story. So here you go. Thank you, guys. You're so good to me. I love how invested you are in this story.

_While Chris was on the phone with Aunt Jenny…_

Bucky's grin was absolutely wicked. Steve's hand squeezed his thigh and his beautiful blue eyes darkened.

"Yeah?" Steve pressed.

"I'm yours whenever you want me, Pal," Bucky assured him, grabbing Steve by the back of the neck and pulling him in for a rough kiss. He put everything he knew Steve liked into that kiss, warming him up.

Steve didn't disappoint. His hand clamped down on his thigh, while his other hand captured Bucky's hair, his fingers sinking into it. The moan that rumbled in Steve's chest had him hard in seconds.

"Bedroom," Steve ordered in something a lot like his Captain's voice.

Bucky just nodded.

Chris sounded joyful talking to her aunt and Bucky knew she wouldn't mind. It was a good thing because Steve hauled him up from the couch and literally dragged him out of their living room and into their bedroom, closing the door behind him before pushing Bucky backward onto the bed.

Steve took Bucky's breath away with hot kisses meant to dominate, to possess. His mouth scorched a path across the scruff on Bucky's jaw, down the column of his throat. That combined with Steve's weight on him, he  _loved_  that, had his heart hammering furiously in his chest as he ground his hips up against his blond lover.

Bucky was seeing Steve's dominant side coming out more and more, even with Chris, and it reminded him of so many years ago. So many  _good_  memories and more broke through every day. Bucky wanted to see more of that dominance but he knew Steve worried about Chris.

Their Chris  _wasn't_  a shrinking violet, he knew she wouldn't be. He'd seen how blissed out their girl had been when Steve had taken control of the situation when they'd returned for Thanksgiving. He had the feeling he wasn't alone in wanting to see more of this side of Steve.

Bucky  _loved_  his blondes.

"You came up here and got a shower without me, Buck," Steve's words were muffled against the tender spot where his shoulder met his neck.

Bucky's hands slid over the powerful expanse of Steve's back, down to clutch the globes of that beautiful ass.

"Yeah?" he gasped out.

"Thought about you all day, Buck." Steve nearly ripped off the t-shirt he wore in his haste to get it off him. Steve's kisses chained over his collarbone, down to one of his nipples that he immediately began to tease with his mouth while Bucky clutched at his blond head. "Thought about getting my mouth on you. Being inside you."

"Just me?" Bucky teased.

Steve lifted his head and smirked. "You know better. I think about our girl too. You're both mine after all.  _All_  mine."

Oh, he loved  _possessive_  Stevie.

Back in the old days when Steve had been small, Bucky had always been fascinated with Steve's eagerness to dominate Bucky as much as Bucky had dominated him. At first, he thought maybe Steve didn't want to be treated – as he saw it – as one of Bucky's dames. Over time, he came to realize that just because he'd been smaller physically than Bucky didn't mean he couldn't be as dominant. Stevie back in those days had taught Bucky many things about himself.

Yeah, Bucky liked the dominant role. Did he  _like_  being dominated?

Only by his Stevie.

And damn did Steve manhandle him. He loved every minute of it.

Steve ripped open his jeans, humming in content that the jeans were the only things he had to yank off Bucky. And he did. Steve had his mouth on him a beat later, swallowing him down and working him with a passion that had Bucky hanging on, pulling at Steve's hair.

Steve groaned when he pulled particularly hard and the vibrations lit Bucky's body up, the orgasm sneaking up on him, making him cry out with the force of it. Steve swallowed everything before pressing wet, messy kisses over Bucky's thighs, taking his time about it.

Bucky was just struggling to breathe.

Steve whipped off his own shirt before flipping Bucky roughly onto his stomach and dragging him up the bed, dropping his weight over him as he continued to recover from his first release.

"You okay there, old man?" Steve's voice was low and enticing by his ear.

"Yeah," Bucky said with a laugh. "Winded."

"I'm disappointed, Buck," Steve's hand slid up into his hair before clutching there and pulling his head back with care. "I was hoping we could go a few rounds. If we stay at this long enough, our girl will wander back here, and we can play with her too."

Bucky panted, feeling his cock twitch beneath him in interest.

"Or maybe," Steve whispered. "Maybe she can just watch me fuck you. You know she  _loves_  that."

Bucky groaned as Steve pressed his hard, jean-covered length up against his ass.

"Or maybe she can help me pay you back," Steve went on, grinding on Bucky now. "I still haven't repaid you for our first night together, the three of us. You remember that?"

"Hell yeah, I remember that," Bucky replied. "That was a good night."

"Good, huh?" Steve continued to grind on him, teasing the shell of his ear with his tongue now. "You remember how you enjoyed making me watch you take our girl apart while I was chained to your bed? Leaving me hard and aching?"

"We took care of you, didn't we Stevie?" Bucky shot back at him.

"She did," Steve told him. "But I still owe  _you_."

He got the first cuff on Bucky's metal wrist, using his weight to hold him down as he fastened the cuff to the headboard - had Steve installed a hook there and he didn't know it? – and caught his flesh hand to secure it too.

"What if Chris decides to try and rescue me?" Bucky teased him, trying to fight him a little because honestly, Steve loved when he did.

"She won't." Steve sounded so confident as he sat up, his weight resting lightly on Bucky's ass. "Besides, she should get a turn one day."

"A turn?" Bucky was getting more turned on by the minute.

"Tell me you wouldn't love tying her to the bed so we could drive her insane," Steve challenged him. "With our mouths…"

That was a mental image that had him fully hard again. He sucked in a breath when Steve's weight lifted, and he heard him digging in the bedside table.

It was going to be  _so_  good.

Steve was efficient as he applied lube to Bucky and his hand and began to work the first finger in. Bucky gasped as Steve rained hot, wet kisses to his back and his ass as he worked him open. By the time he had three fingers worked into him, Bucky was hard as a rock, grinding himself into the mattress beneath him.

All at once those fingers left and a sharp smack across his left cheek stung. "Up."

Steve made him dig his knees in so he could raise up, sticking his ass in the air.

"You look so good, baby," Steve said with a groan. He'd gotten rid of his jeans and Bucky caught him working that beautiful cock in his peripheral vision. And it was all his. "So good chained down and waiting for me to fuck you."

He felt Steve come up behind him, thighs pressing to the backs of his and the head of that huge cock pressing against his entrance. Bucky was just about to drool he wanted it so badly.

"You ready for me?" Steve's voice was almost gentle.

"Yes," Bucky got out. "God, yes. Please… give it to me."

And he did. Steve slid carefully into him, the stretch feeling so good. While he let Bucky adjust, he draped himself over him, nipping at his earlobe with his teeth as he grabbed Bucky by the hair in a tight grip.

"You feel so good," Steve whispered hotly. "So good wrapped around me."

Bucky released a low groan when Steve began thrusting, gently at first. Teasing. It felt so good, all of it. Bucky didn't care. It was his best guy and he felt amazing even though his own cock was painfully hard and leaking, swinging between his own thighs. There was nothing he could do about it right now.

"You're so good," Steve told him. "So fucking good for me."

He lifted off Bucky to grab him by the hips and began thrusting in earnest behind him, making Bucky cry out. He held on to the top of the mattress as much as he could with the designer cuffs, loving the slight edge of pain as Steve's thrusts grew harder.

"Too much?" Steve asked, his breathing strained.

"No," Bucky told him. "More…"

Steve growled, a deep sexy sound and his hips really began to thrust into him hard. It was good.  _So_  good and Bucky held on, loving every second of it.

Reaching up, Steve clutched his hair again, pulling his head back. "You don't come until I give you permission."

 _Oh, God, there it was_. Steve had just busted out his Captain's voice and Bucky had to really fight not to go off like a rocket then and there.

"Do you understand?" A hard smack landed on his thigh, the sting eased away by the gentle caress that followed.

"Yes, I… understand," Bucky struggled to speak. Steve was fucking the hell out of him, greedy about it.

"Please," Bucky begged him, painfully hard now. "Please, let me…"

"Think I should let him come, Sweetheart?"

Bucky stiffened at the question. How long had their girl been watching? It was a real testament to Stevie's prowess that he hadn't picked up her presence at all.

"Hmmm, not yet," her soft voice came from behind both of them. "I want to help."

"Hear that?" Steve gave particularly hard thrust, hitting that spot within him that almost had him seeing stars.

"Yes," Bucky growled out, fighting to hold on now. He had Stevie being dominant and fucking him so good and Chris was watching, wanted to play? Could this get  _better_?

"Can you flip him over?" Chris asked sweetly.

Bucky's world blurred, and his wrists burned as Steve literally flipped him onto his back. There was just enough give in the cuffs to keep from truly hurting him and Steve  _knew_  he would say something if it truly hurt.

Worse, Steve slowed his thrusts way down, keeping his movements damn near gentle and easy now as he watched Chris climb on the bed. She stopped next to Bucky and the look of pure mischief on her face had him intrigued. He was so hard it hurt but he had a feeling she had something good in mind so he held on.

She did. First, she slowly unbuttoned her pajama top, treating him to more of her creamy smooth flesh with each button she loosed. Finally, she pulled it open, she was bare beneath, and Chris smiled as his gaze went straight for her breasts. Playfully, she pulled the bottoms down, panties with them, and then tossed them off the side, one slim hand sliding down her body to tease her clit.

"Oh, doll, play with it," Bucky told her, pretty much drooling now. "Just like that."

Chris winked at him. "I need something more… Hmm…"

They both watched her rise to stand on the bed, stepping over Bucky's midsection and facing Steve. Placing her hands on his broad shoulders, she widened her stance putting that juicy center of hers within reach of Steve's face.

"Captain, could you help a girl out?" she asked sweetly.

Steve's chuckle was a genuinely dirty sound. Bucky was honestly impressed.

He was impressed with the way the punk could multi-task too. Keeping a hand on Bucky's hip as he continued to thrust into him slow and easy, he grabbed the back of their girl's thigh to anchor her. Steve leaned forward to tease her with his mouth and Chris had to have known the view of it Bucky would have. The sound of her breathy little cries combined with watching Steve's tongue and lower lip work that sweet flesh had him back on the edge, fighting off his release.

He wanted to taste her, to make her release those sounds.

With what looked like reluctance, their girl glanced back over her shoulder at him, her gray eyes smoldering, and pulled away from Steve. She sank back onto her knees on the bed, now facing Bucky, and straddled him, lining him up and sinking down on his cock slowly as Steve made room for her, never ceasing his movements.

_So good…_

With one hand on Bucky's hip and one on hers, Stevie smirked at him over Chris's shoulder. "Work him, Sweetheart," Steve whispered near her.

Planting her slender hands on his chest, her pussy like a heated vice around his cock now, she did just as her Captain ordered. Chris started riding him as hard as she could, it was the sweetest torture, and then Steve got back to thrusting in earnest.

Bucky was out of his head. He heard himself cry out as everything began to white out around him. His cock was buried in his girl's tight wet heat while Steve's huge cock was driving into his ass, hitting that spot inside of him with each thrust. He thought Chris was whispering encouragement to him. The last things he saw were Steve's fingers working her clit while he caught her chin in the other hand and captured her lips in a filthy kiss, all the while fucking Bucky hard…

Slowly Bucky came around. The gentle weight of Chris draped over him, her head lay on his chest and she was trying to catch her breath. Steve loomed over both of them with a shit-eating grin on his face.

"There he is," Steve's tone was teasing. "I really wasn't looking forward to having to call medical."

"Punk," Bucky managed, trying to breathe himself. Chris wasn't hurting his efforts, but she was still. "Did you kill our girl?"

Steve pressed a kiss to her temple. "Sweetheart?"

"M'okay," she mumbled.

Bucky and Steve exchanged a grin. When Chris got to  _that_  point, she was done for the night.

Steve climbed over them to release the cuffs from Bucky's wrists, his right wrist was a little sore but it was totally worth it. Steve caught his wrist before he could look at it himself.

"Sorry," he said, truly remorseful. "I didn't mean to hurt you."

Bucky's heart shifted in his chest. "S'nothing, Stevie. I love you."

Steve kissed him them, tasting like their girl and Steve and Bucky moaned at the fire in it. Every day he was so damned grateful to have his guy back.  _So_  grateful.

Bucky rolled Chris to his side, she had dozed off, and was able to sit up. He knew he didn't misread the usual jealousy he got from Steve. Whenever they'd worn their girl out and needed to get ready for bed, it usually went the same way. Bucky took off with Chris, bathing her and getting her into something to sleep like the doll baby he called her while Steve changed out the bed. Bucky didn't realize for a while that Steve was jealous of that.

Bucky had always felt that Steve was his to take care of from his asthma attacks back in the day to the battlefield now. He was a caretaker for the people he loved. It was what he did.

Now that Chris was pregnant, Steve wanted to be there for her too. It had been so obvious the morning he'd made her that ridiculously huge breakfast that she'd loved. The huge dopey grin he wore for an hour after that got Bucky to thinking.

"Why don't you run our girl a bath, Stevie," Bucky scooped her up and loaded her into Steve's waiting arms. "I'll get everything changed out in here."

Steve nodded, and Bucky caught just a flash of the little eager guy his Stevie used to be. His heart clenched in his chest, watching how carefully Steve moved them off the bed and headed for the bathroom.

Once he had the bedding changed, Bucky headed for the bathroom, peaking in to see their girl in the tub with Steve, her back to his front and chatting happily with a shit ton of bubbles everywhere. He couldn't help but laugh at the happy scene.

"Rude to linger outside, jerk," Steve's tone was easy.

Bucky had pulled on his sweats and he stopped in the doorway, just loving the sight of them.

Chris told them all about her phone call with her aunt, so happy for the opportunity to do so. She couldn't tell her aunt where she was or who she was with, and that was okay. Her aunt was safe and had a much better job and apartment. And Chris got to touch base with her.

By the time they all piled into bed, Steve channel surfing, Chris snuggled up to his side, laying her head on his good shoulder. She was asleep in seconds.

Once he found some documentary on the Korean War, Steve grinned at them, sliding an arm across Bucky's pillow and snuggling to up Chris on the other side.

Bucky fell asleep with Steve's fingers in his hair, just like he used to before the war and he was so happy to have that memory back too.


	35. Chapter 35

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little late but a Christmas chapter for our trio before we get back to the story. Hope the holidays were good to you if you celebrate.

Steve and Bucky were returning from a two-week mission and Chris hummed as she placed finishing touches on their apartment. Tomorrow was Christmas Eve and they were getting home on time. She couldn't be happier.

When Chris had still lived with her Aunt Jenny, Christmas had been a big deal. They put up a tree, lots of decorations, they baked, watched Christmas movies, and wrapped presents. It had been years since Chris had done any of it but this year, now that she had her boys, the baby on the way, Christmas hit her hard and once the idea was set in her mind, she had to do it.

Obviously, she wouldn't be allowed out of the compound to get a tree and she didn't want to wait until her guys came home. Tony and Pepper went out themselves to a tree farm, Tony showing her the landscape on StarkTime and letting her pick one out. An hour after it had been delivered, it was decorated in all the ornaments that had arrived the day before. Chris was nothing if not methodical.

The tree she was proud of. Chris had found a small store in Mississippi that had sold vintage Christmas decorations and she grinned every time she stopped to study all the porcelain and glass ornaments from back in the '30s and '40s. She'd mixed in a few contemporary Hallmark ornaments that she just liked and finished it off with sparkling lights and red satin bows.

There were other, subtle decorations, around the apartment and her presents were wrapped. Each night, alone in their huge bed, she cuddled up with her boys' pillows and enjoyed all the Christmas movies she remembered.

The baking? Well… The first two batches of burnt cookies? Completely justifiable. The next several batches of cookies saw her getting better until finally… finally… Chris hit a perfect batch. She'd been so proud of them she'd taken them down to the office and got the ultimate praise and endorsement of her cookie-making skills from none other than Phil Coulson himself. If Phil Coulson complimented anything anyone did, it was high praise.

Hell, he'd pretty much polished off half the batch all by himself. Tony certainly helped since he'd agreed to sit the mission out to watch over her and Pepper.

It worked great because it gave her something to do besides work and miss them.

The morning sickness had even finally backed off for the most part.

All she needed were for her boys to come home.

Chris awoke that morning, got all of her presents wrapped and under the tree. Her attempt to make breakfast as Steve did was ambitious, she'd admit, so she got rid of the burnt evidence, cleaned up the kitchen, and headed down to the food court for sustenance. When she came back, she got "dolled up" to use her boys' old-fashioned term, wearing a simple, festive red dress, curling her hair, taking her time on her makeup.

Pepper called, asking her for her help at 3 and by 5 everything was ready for dinner. While they were getting everything coordinated, the jet arrived, and Chris knew it wasn't likely that she'd beat them to the apartment to see everything so she decided to wait until they came down to dinner.

Wanda and Vision wandered down first, holding hands and looking tired but pleased to be there. Wanda hugged Pepper, then Chris.

"You both look good." Wanda's eyes dropped, looking for baby bumps. Chris did have one though it was slight. "When are you due?"

"If all goes well, the middle of July," Pepper told her.

Chris shrugged. "Depends on a few things. If things are more normal, same. If not, well, we'll see."

Wanda nodded while Vision nodded politely.

"How did it go this time?" Chris asked.

"Long," Wanda told her. "We're all exhausted. But everyone made it."

There was something in her emotions. "Are you okay?" Chris had to ask.

"There's been some fighting," Wanda told them in a lowered voice. "There are some tensions."

Chris blew out an exhale. "What happened?"

"There was a fundamental disagreement about how the mission was deployed between Captain Rogers and Mr. Stark," the Vision explained. "Since the mission parameters have been met, it's difficult to understand why the emotional aspect is still unresolved."

Pepper rolled her eyes. "Sounds like we need to direct traffic and maybe abbreviate tonight's dinner then?" she said to Chris.

_Well, shit._

Chris nodded, knowing how stubborn Steve could be and if Bucky were in agreement with him…

Sam was next to head down with Bruce who looked pretty beaten up. Chris ran up to hug both of them.

"You look beautiful, Danforth," Sam said grinning.

Chris felt her face warm. "Thank you, Sam. But what happened out there. Surely someone didn't best the Hulk?"

Bruce honestly managed to look embarrassed. "I'm okay."

"You  _would_ have been okay if you guys had listened to Cap. You wouldn't have had a building dropped on you," Sam said in a polite voice, but he still made his opinion known.

Bruce shook his head. "We had to, Sam. We couldn't risk that explosive set up. It could have leveled the entire city."

"We had it handled," Sam told him, his smile fading.

"Guys, it's Christmas," Chris reminded them, taking the arm of each man. "And here comes Natasha. Doesn't she look beautiful?"

She did. Nat was all lush curves and red hair in a sleek, midnight blue dress that only showed off her assets. Her makeup was perfect but didn't entirely hide the bruise around her left eye.

"Yeah, she really is," Bruce said almost to himself, the look of longing in his gaze unmistakable.

"Natasha," Chris called out to her, freeing her hands and holding her arms open for a welcoming hug.

And Nat did hug her, but the warning look she shot Sam told her which side of the argument her friend was on.

"Well, would you look at that," Chris winked at Sam and pointed over their heads. "Mistletoe. Bruce, Nat. I'll leave you to it."

Taking Sam's arm, Chris steered him away from the two who stared at her with surprised.

"Did you really just say that out loud?" Sam asked her, smirking.

"Yes, I did," Chris laughed.

And as they stood and watched, Bruce leaned down to give Nat what appeared to be a chaste kiss.

When Nat wrapped her arms around his neck and deepened that kiss, Chris grinned at Sam.

"About time," Chris said happily.

"You know there was a time, miss FBI agent, that you were  _all_  business," Sam told her, steering her towards the bar. "Now look at you."

"Now look at me," Chris went along with him, reading his emotions and finding only fondness. "I guess it is a bit of a change."

"Not a bad one," Sam told her. "You still take care of business when you need to. But…I hope those two old men you hang out with make you as happy as you make them."

Chris didn't know immediately how to respond to that but that wasn't a bad thing. "They do."

Sam's grin was sly. "I'm being serious. Steve before you came along, well, he was a good leader. A good guy. Once all of you got together, he became a better leader. He's always cared about doing the right thing but he cares more. It's a powerful thing. I think you gave him something to fight for."

Her eyes misted as she nodded. "And Bucky?"

"I can tolerate him now." Sam laughed. "He's still an asshole but now he talks about you more than he's an asshole. That's an improvement."

That had Chris laughing.

"I wanted to thank you, Sam," Chris told him. "Not that I think anyone was going to have a huge problem with us, the three of us, but your acceptance, I think, helped that along. Just thank you."

Sam nodded, ordering a drink at the bar for himself and a sparkling cider for her. "I was concerned at first, I'll be honest. I didn't want to like you because we all thought you were jerking Bucky around and when he's upset, Steve tends to be upset. Then you came back, and I was afraid you and Steve would fight over him."

"So you knew about them?" Chris took her cider from the bartender.

Sam shrugged. "We all suspected. But then the three of you were all together and then we all waited for that to implode. But it didn't… I'm glad it's working out for you guys. It shouldn't matter what anyone thinks outside of that."

Chris watched him down most of his drink in one go and shrugged. "It doesn't. But I'm happy that you support them. I really appreciate it."

"Here for you too, little Mama," Sam told her. "How are you doing?"

"Morning sickness has backed off," she told him. "Everything is great so far."

"Are they taking care of you?" Sam's smirk reappeared.

"Yes," she assured him. "Sometimes almost too well."

"My offer is still open," he told her, teasing. "You ever want to trade up for a younger man, I'd better be your first stop."

Chris laughed and watched his gaze catch someone behind her. She turned to find Pepper wrapped in Tony's arms, a look for delight on his face as he placed a hand on her tummy. Then his gaze scanned the room, finally landing on Chris and Tony headed straight for her.

Tony's emotions were a curious mix of annoyance and regret. When he reached her, he fixed a glare on Sam and then gave her a hug, kissing her cheek. He left eye was black and slightly swollen.

"How are you, Chris?" he pulled back to look her over. "You look good. Too good for the likes of Barnes and Noble."

Chris exchanged a glance with Sam before smiling at Tony. "How are you?"

"I'm hoping I haven't put a damper on your Christmas, Danforth," Tony admitted. "Steve and I got into it and…"

"And now is not the time and place for this," Sam advised him.

Tony looked ready to retort but Chris held up a hand to stop whatever he was going to say.

"I understand," she told Tony. "Don't worry about it. Perhaps it would be best if I retired."

Tony looked ashamed. "Chris, I'm sorry. You look amazing and I know you helped Pepper with all of this and…"

"I know when whatever happened went down, this wasn't your intention," Chris said to him and Sam. It's really okay. I'll just head up, okay?"

Pepper reached them, looking beautiful in her emerald green dress. "No, you're not going up. I've been planning this for weeks and everyone needs to grow up and enjoy it. Don't you think, Chris?"

Pepper, thanks to years with Tony, was a formidable force. Lovely in her blue gown, Pepper's chin lifted and Tony looked ready to flee the room.

"Tony, we're going to put this aside and have a nice evening," she told him then looked to Chris expectantly.

Chris couldn't help grin. "And I'm going to go get my guys and bring them down."

"I'm going with you because I want to see this," Sam said, grinning.

"Actually, maybe you and Tony can get a head start on working everything out," Pepper told him, and both men now looked ready to flee the room.

"I'll be back," Chris told them, heading for the elevators.

When she reached their apartment, she heard her boys yelling before she walked in.

It stopped the minute two pairs of blue eyes spotted her. Bucky rose from the couch, while Steve, fresh from a shower and dressed in jeans and navy sweater headed in her direction. His gaze held a similar regret to Tony's as it moved over her. His jaw was bruised.

Steve gently wrapped himself around her, holding her against him, his lips moving in her hair. "Hey, Sweetheart."

Bucky had reached her, dressed for bed actually and hugged her next though not as carefully. He pulled back and his face fell too.

"You look beautiful, doll," he said, exchanging a look with Steve.

"Thank you," Chris told him before returning her gaze to Steve. "When are you coming down?"

Steve winced.

"Sweetheart, I'm so sorry… we ruined the evening for you," Steve said, regret rolling off him. "Tony didn't say anything did he?"

Chris nodded as she regarded them both. "Yes, he apologized and told me there was some sort of disagreement. It's okay. I don't know what happened out there. I don't really need to know. I'm just glad to see you and I'm looking forward to our Christmas dinner with everyone."

Bucky wrapped his metal arm gently around her, his good hand gently lifting to her tummy, gently touching the slight swell there and in an instant, her mind was clear of everything else.

His dark blue eyes were rounded in wondered. "We've only been gone two weeks, right? Look at this…"

Steve's expression eased into a smile.

Chris sighed, nodded. "Yeah."

"What?" Bucky's smile widened.

"If I'm showing this early, I'm going to end up as big as a house," she tried to joke but it fell flat.

"Hey," Steve pressed a hand to her face, his thumb stroking her cheek, "it won't be that long even if you do end up a little… bigger."

"How are you feeling?" Bucky's delight melted into concern in three seconds.

"The morning sickness has backed off," Chris told them. "I'm able to eat more, finally, so I'm looking forward to dinner."

Oh, she wasn't letting them off the hook so easily.

Steve stuffed his hands in his pockets, looking more upset with himself by the minute. "I don't think it's a good idea for me to go."

"Why?" Chris asked innocently.

"It was a pretty good fight," Steve explained, "and considering how everything went down, I'm not sure Tony would appreciate my being there."

"You were wrong about something?" Chris wanted to know.

"No, Stevie had it right –"

"Tony wouldn't listen –"

She held up her hands to cut them both off. "So you were  _right_? If you were right, why are you planning on hiding up here?"

 _That_  got Steve's attention. "I'm not hiding," he snapped. "I just don't want to see Tony for a few days and I'm tired. I'd prefer to stay right here."

Bucky, standing there in his sleepwear, looked from her and back to Steve.

"And it looks like you've made up your mind to stay here too," she told Bucky who was looking less sure by the minute.

Chris had been prepared to do a little acting but realized then she didn't have to act. She realized she was blinking back tears as they stood there collectively wondering where to go from there. They'd been gone for two weeks while she'd been there getting ready for Christmas. She'd helped Pepper get everything ready for the evening, and had a wonderful evening planned, and now some fight with Tony mattered  _more_?

She was feeling sorry for herself and she knew it.

They were out there making a difference in the world, saving lives. Chris knew that such work, albeit on a smaller scale, was tiring and draining as much as it was rewarding. If they truly wanted to stay home, what could she do?

Nodding, she turned back to the door. "I won't stay long," she said quietly, then fled the apartment before she did something she really regretted like bursting into tears.

 

* * *

 

Bucky shook his head, wishing Chris could see the look of defeat on Captain America's face once she left. What Iron Man and legions of HYDRA couldn't pull off in decades of battles and wars, one small blonde managed in a few words and with the defeated way she fled their apartment.

"Happy now?" Bucky grumbled.

"Buck, don't." Steve's tone held a note of warning. "I can't just turn it off."

"It didn't have anything to do with her," Bucky picked up the argument they were having when she arrived. "You're pissed at Tony, fine. Leave it out  _there_."

Steve's jaw tightened.

"Look at everything," Bucky held his hands out at the apartment before heading over to the tree. "These look familiar?" Then he took a closer look, plucking one ornament from the tree.

Then he held it up to Steve, wanting him to take a closer look. It was a drawing Steve had drawn of Chris reading on the couch. She'd had it made into an ornament.

Steve's gaze dropped to the floor.

Bucky shook his head, putting the ornament back on its hook. "Where did doll baby find ornaments from our time?" he mused to himself more than Steve.

Everything around them, all the Christmas décor, looked amazing. It was a lot  _nicer_  than what he and Steve had in their day but still, it was obvious her intent had been, and it had his heart clenching in his chest.

He knew what he had to do. With nothing further to say, Bucky headed for their bedroom to change clothes. He wasn't proud of the fact that he just didn't want to go to Stark's latest party. They had way too many special events in his opinion. They'd all taken a beating and he was sore with a couple of broken ribs. Sure, they'd heal by morning. But he'd really been hoping to stretch out under the tree with Steve and their girl, exchange gifts and go to bed.

As it was, their girl wanted to go to Stark's shindig and she had two guys. It wasn't asking for much that at least  _one_  of them went with her, was it?

Steve followed him back to the bedroom, sinking down on the end of the bed and watching as he selected clothes from his closet.

"You're going now?" Steve demanded.

"One of us should," Bucky told him. "For her."

Steve dropped his head in his hands. "I didn't mean to snap at her… You're right. But Stark…"

"Stark is down there," Bucky told him, pulling off his tank off and dropped it to the bed. "He doesn't want to see you either."

"He's the host." Steve blew out an exhale. "He  _has_  to be there."

Bucky pulled off his sweats, drawing Steve's attention when he stood there naked though Steve was trying to be sly about it.

"I'll be there too," Bucky told him resolutely, picking up the slacks he selected.

Steve moved too quickly for him to see him coming. Bucky found himself pinned beneath his pissed off Captain on the bed. Steve's head dipped low until he was speaking against Bucky's mouth.

Bucky grinned, seeing how Steve's eyes were darkened with need. He let go of the slacks for the moment. "Oh, I see. Need to blow off steam?"

Steve was on him then, a hurricane of rough kisses and hands. Sore as he was, if that was what Steve needed, he was up for it. Steve took his breath away, his mouth all over him until getting his mouth around his cock. Bucky could only hold on as Steve loved him, took what he needed without holding back.

 

* * *

 

Later than he intended, Bucky rushed down to the gathering, just in time to see everyone getting settled at the table for dinner. Their girl stood talking to Phil and his girlfriend, one arm wrapped around her midsection like she was trying to comfort herself.

He passed Pepper on his way to Chris, Stark's fiancée smiling sweetly at him as he passed her. Phil saw him coming as he wrapped his arms carefully around Chris from behind, pressing a kiss into her hair.

"Hey, doll," he said quietly, smiling. "I'm sorry I'm late."

When she turned in his arms, her smile was blinding. "But you're here."

"I'm here," he told her, kissing the tip of her nose. "I'm always going to be here for my best girl."

They talked with Phil and his girlfriend until Pepper announced that it was time to eat. Bucky had just gotten her seated and taken his assigned seat on her left when he saw the punk walking in.

Steve was sporting a deep bruise at his jaw and nobody needed to tell Chris Tony gave it to him any more than Pepper needed to know Tony's black eye came from Steve. He'd put the navy sweater and jeans back on, but he was there. Taking his seat on the other side of Chris and looking glad he'd come.

Bucky had thought about Pepper's fondness for assigned seating. How sad would it have made their girl to be sitting between two empty seats for Christmas dinner?

Chris's gaze swung to Steve, surprised and pleased to see him there. Steve, who was quite a bit calmer now, pressed a gentle kiss to her cheek.

"I'm sorry," he whispered in her ear.

Bucky smiled at the way her breath drew in.

"You look beautiful, Sweetheart."

"You really do," Bucky offered on the other side.

The flush on her cheeks had Bucky interested in more than just dinner.

There was some tension, but Steve and Tony got through dinner politely and without incident. Pepper had only intervened once, and it wasn't because of anything his guy side. Bucky would have handled that before Chris could even think about it.

They enjoyed talking with Sam, Wanda, and Vision for a few moments after that with Nat and Bruce coming over eventually before Steve decided it was time to leave.

When they returned to the apartment, Chris sank down onto the couch and sighed happily.

"Thank you both," she told them with shiny eyes. "It… meant a lot to me."

Steve took a knee in front of her, taking her hands in his. "It's what I should have done from the beginning. I'm sorry I lost my temper with you. Forgive me?"

Chris nodded, leaning forward to press her forehead to Steve's. Bucky's heart swelled to see his blondes make up.

Ducking into the bedroom, Bucky grabbed the presents they'd gotten her and brought them back to the couch, sitting next to their girl.

"We're doing presents?" She asked with a grin.

Steve nodded, watching as Bucky handed her their first present. Chris wasn't surprised to find several pairs of very expensive-looking lace topped stockings in several colors.

"I can't imagine whose idea this was," she smirked at Steve who turned red to the tips of his ears.

"Is that okay?" he asked shyly.

"I love them." Chris leaned forward to kiss him first, then Bucky. "Practical. I'll be able to wear these while I'm pregnant."

"Oh, wow. This is perfect!" The second gift was an apron since the only one they had was huge and on her. "I baked while you were gone. I finally had a couple of wonderful batches of cookies!"

"How many attempts did  _that_  take?" Bucky asked with a chuckle.

"Don't worry about it." She winked at him.

The last present was a small box and her brows shot up at that. Her hands shook slightly as she opened it to reveal a beautiful silver bracelet, a single strand of twinkling diamonds, rubies, and sapphires. Bucky took the delicate jewelry piece and secured it around her wrist.

Now her eyes grew misty. "It's beautiful. Wearing both of your colors. I love it."

Her gaze flew to Bucky and it never failed to amaze him how she could read them so well. She just knew it had been  _his_  idea.

"Let me get my presents for  _you_." Chris looked to Steve who sat at her feet and he rose up onto his knees, but instead of moving, he pulled her knees on either side of his narrow hips.

"In the morning," Steve told her, smoothing his palms up under her thighs, beneath her dress. "We only opened one present on Christmas Eve at my house."

"Same for us." Bucky pressed a kiss to her temple. "Good idea, Stevie."

Steve's groan combined with watching her red skirt ride up to reveal the stockings Steve loved her had him growing hard fast. The snap he heard next got his attention.

"What's this?" Steve slid the skirt up higher. "What's under the hood here, doll?"

Bucky helped shove the skirt up just a little higher to show off not only lacy stockings but garters too. Red satin garters with a matching belt and panties.

"Now that's a good Christmas present," Steve told her, pulling her up from the couch, her legs wrapped around his waist. Turning, Steve walked on his knees until he could gently press her onto her back just beneath the Christmas tree.

Bucky sighed happily, loving how the flashing lights played upon her pale skin and hair, across her red dress. Gently they pulled off her dress, her strapless bra. Bucky tasted her lips, teased the tender flesh of her neck, her breasts. He loved her breathy little sighs and the way her hands clutched at them, trying to hold on.

All the while Steve watched him tease her, his hands smoothing over the tops of her thighs and pressing kisses to her soft flesh as he went. He watched their guy unhook the garters at the tops of her stockings, pulling the panties down and off her. One of the red pumps she'd worn had fallen off to the side and Bucky grinned, teasing one of her nipples with his mouth, as he watched Steve place it back on her dainty foot.

Steve surprised him then but reattaching the garters to her stockings.

He didn't have a chance to focus on it too much because Chris pulled him back up to kiss him, her hands tugging at the shirt he wore. Bucky pulled it free of his slacks, had it unbuttoned quickly while she struggled to pull it off him. She stroked the hard length of him as he struggled to get out of the slacks next, shoes and socks shoved off too.

"Need you," she begged him. "Please."

Bucky was aware that Steve headed for the bedroom as he moved down her body, pressing wet kisses along her flesh to reach the apex of her thighs.

"Bucky," she pleaded. "Need to feel you."

"Just want a taste," he whispered, smoothing his hands over her hips and situating himself between her creamy thighs. "I'll treat you right, doll. Promise."

Bucky had buried his face between her thighs by the time Steve returned, sitting close by but not joining them. Chris didn't seem to notice, she was writhing beneath him, her hands sinking into his hair and the gems from her bracelet catching the light as she clutched at him.

Once he'd made her come on his tongue, Bucky moved up her body, eager to be inside her. Chris wrapped around him as he made love to her, enjoying the tight heat of her around his cock. He did everything he knew to make her come undone, teasing her throat and ears with her lips, angling his thrusts to hit her g-spot with each thrust. Bucky loved her gently, taking her breath away as he made her come twice more on his cock.

He'd almost forgotten about Steve and when he glanced over at their guy, he found him sketching them furiously.

_My sentimental little punk, wanting a souvenir._

Bucky could have brought their girl off again, but came himself instead, holding her close when he'd finishing and loving her as they both recovered.

"What are you doing?" Chris asked Steve from beneath Bucky.

Steve grinned at them over the sketchbook from where he sat on the carpet. "You both look so beautiful," Steve told them. "I want to remember tonight."

"You're sketching?" Chris stiffened beneath him, the concern in her tone easy to hear. "Can I see?"

Steve nodded, crawling to them. Here they were with her self-conscious as he was but for different reasons.

Gently he showed them the sketch, a loving view of Bucky making love to her beneath the Christmas tree. It was erotic but tasteful and the tears in her eyes caught the tree lights as she gazed at it.

"Steve, that's beautiful," she whispered, laying a hand across his cheek. "That's  _so_  beautiful."

"You're beautiful," Steve claimed her mouth for a heated kiss. "Both of you. You looked so gorgeous there beneath the tree. I just… I wanted to capture it. It's just for us."

Sliding the sketchbook under the tree next to him, Steve scooped her up in his arms, rising from the floor.

"Did Bucky wear you out?" Steve pressed a kiss to her lips.

"Not entirely," she told him, hanging on as he carried her back to their bedroom.

Bucky grabbed the sketchbook, it was the time of the year when people came to visit after all, and brought it with him, securing it in a drawer as he joined them on the bed. Bucky held their girl for Steve who loved her so gently. Way more carefully than he'd loved  _him_  earlier.

Bucky had loved it.

As he fell asleep that night, both of them tucked around Steve in the middle, Bucky smiled in the darkness. Honestly, he could barely remember any Christmases before this one. And he didn't care.

Tonight had been the first Christmas with his family and it was perfect.


	36. Chapter 36

In time, they'd mostly put Ross out of their minds and things fell into a comfortable routine around the compound.

Chris was six months along in her pregnancy and each day closer to the birth of their son made her boys both worse. In good ways. When they weren't pointing out that she'd started waddle – because  _that's_  what a woman with a ballooning figure wants to hear – they were hovering over her.

Okay, maybe she did waddle. A  _little_. As Helen suspected, the baby was on the larger side and preliminary tests she'd run revealed that the father, whichever one of them it was, had indeed passed his modified and superior DNA on to their child judging by the size and slightly accelerated growth. And that was a good thing in her mind. It did a lot to calm Steve's mind anyway.

The hovering wasn't bad at first. She didn't mind that they took care of all the household tasks and ran her baths and kept her fed. That was all good.

It was the little things like being able to carry her own laptop. She'd closed it one evening after work when Bucky showed up to walk her up to the apartment only to have him freak out when she went to pick it up. She  _could_  lift things with no harm to the baby. He couldn't be dissuaded. Worse, Tony backed him up – how about  _that?_  – and now when Steve and Bucky weren't carrying her things around for her, Tony was.

And Nat on occasion. And Bruce. And Sam. And Wanda. And Darcy. And Phil especially.

_Jesus._

They continued to work on the return of Project Insight as they waited for Ross along with other missions that came up like clockwork. When Ross had returned the week after Steve had met with him, Tony and Fury, he informed them that there was intel that HYDRA had hit a snag in their production efforts, wherever they were, and that he'd let them know when it was time to strike. It gave Chris and Tony time to look for the plans and algorithm copies in the meantime.

Chris had eliminated data from thirteen servers so far, all across Eastern Europe. Mostly mockup plans for restarting the project but no sign of the algorithm so far – and Chris  _really_  wanted to get her hands on that. Just last week Fury got intel on where it was believed they were building the new helicarriers and Chris was heading for the meeting. She knew this mission would require both Steve  _and_  Bucky and she was as ready as she was going to be for that.

Hell, she couldn't sleep for worrying about it. About  _them_. Chris needed them both. She loved them both.

What she wasn't ready for when she walked into the conference room was for Ross to be standing there, his expression stony as his gaze fixed on her, dropped to her belly.

_Fuck you, Ross. I haven't forgotten it's your fault I lost my first child._

His expression became something like a disapproving sneer as she headed to where Steve and Bucky sat, both of them watching Ross with gazes she wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of. Bucky moved over a seat, placing her between them.

Chris took a deep steadying breath. She'd  _hoped_  Ross would show up. But she couldn't let on that she did.

"Where the hell  _were_  you?" Bucky hissed as they waited for a couple of others to arrive. "I've been looking for you for an hour because of this."

Oh, she knew they'd be pissed. Her boys intended to keep her out of the meeting, away from Ross. She understood why. Really.

But for her own plan to work, she really  _had_  to be at the meeting to see Ross.

"I got wrapped up in checking out that server in Bavaria," she said in a low voice, knowing her soldiers could hear her. She hated playing this card. "I know I should check my phone more but… I get so forgetful these days. I guess it's the pregnancy."

It was the one thing she knew she could use as an excuse that would make them feel guilty if they continued to fuss at her.

"You need to find an app or something," Bucky did go on. "I don't care if you have to set an alarm that goes off every hour, for your safety we need to be able to reach you. I called  _three_  times."

"I forgot to put my volume back on from my meeting with Tony this morning," she said pitifully. "I'm so sorry."

 _Oh, all the lies._  Still, she told herself. It was necessary. They'd understand why later.

Steve's jaw was locked but his gaze had softened, letting her know he was upset but couldn't bring himself to be  _that_  mad at her.

Bucky on the other hand…

"I'm just about ready to restrict you to the apartment for the rest of the pregnancy," he warned, keeping his voice low.

Nat took her seat across from them, winking at her.  _Good_. Nat was all ready to do her part.

"Do you hear me?" Bucky went on. "I'm serious, Chris. We're not taking any chances with your safety or his."

Putting on her best remorseful expression, Chris acted ashamed to meet his gaze and when she did, she nodded.

"I'm so sorry. I love you both and I… I'll do whatever you think is best. I promise."

After all, if she and Nat pulled this off, it would be worth it to spend the next three months restricted in the apartment. If she could stop Ross…

"What are you up to?" Bucky's gaze narrowed on her. That got Steve's attention.

"What?" Chris sounded innocent.

"You agreed to do what we wanted, even stay in the apartment, huh? Just like that?"

Chris blew out an exhale, trying to come across as tired and overwhelmed. Bucky wasn't easy to fool.

"Well, I stay so tired these days," Chris explained, and it wasn't a lie. "If I was there in the apartment, I could catch a nap here and there. I was thinking earlier that I wish I could've taken a nap."

She caught the glance the two of them exchanged and Bucky backed down. Steve had to be happy as hell to hear her say  _that._ He'd been gently asking her to work from the apartment for the last month, and she had to be ready to go through with it now. And she  _would_   _be_  if she and Nat pulled this off.

Tony finally walked in, his gaze going to Chris, his expression something like disapproval. Beneath the table, she felt Steve's hand slide protectively over her belly, over their son, his large hand spanning a lot of it. Steve was watching Ross, but the gesture had her melting.

"We've located HYDRA's production facility," Ross began without preamble. "Just as we suspected, it's deep in Siberia and very well concealed. We actually lucked into learning its location. We don't have a lot of time. The helicarriers will be ready to carry out their mission within days."

Chris's heart clenched in her chest. Bucky's hand slid into her own in her lap, lending her strength.

Ross had a laptop set up on the opposite table, within reach of Nat which wasn't a coincidence. Ross pulled up maps on the screen, hooked into Tony's guest network so he could display it easily for them. All he needed to do was turn his back quickly…

Her boys studied the map, looking over the terrain and buildings they would have to navigate in their quest to destroy the second incarnation of Project Insight. Ross turned to the maps, pointing things out. It gave Nat all the time she needed. Chris watched as Nat followed her instructions, no one seeing her hands move towards Ross's laptop.

"I understand, Stark, that you've had some luck in tracking down copies of the plans," Ross said but he was looking directly at Chris. "How about the algorithm?"

"Not yet," Tony's voice didn't hold any of its normal exuberance.

Ross's gaze on her was intense and as much as she hated to do it, she reached out to read his emotions.

_Curiosity. Determination._

That he was up to something was no surprise. But what? What could he possibly hope to do  _now_?

They discussed the terrain of the site, potential landing sites, exits. Bucky and Steve had a lot of input on how they were going to pull off the mission, Bruce throwing in a couple of ideas. Rhodes would be going with them and every extra person helped as far as Chris was concerned.

She just wished Steve and Bucky didn't have to go at all. Their baby would be there in three months and she wanted both of there in one piece.

Hell, it was terrible timing. Everyone else was gone on a mission led by Sam and Clint. That group that included Vision, Wanda, and Peter.

"I'll meet with you later this afternoon on a lead we have regarding the algorithm," Ross said too calmly to Tony before turning his attention back to the maps. The mission parameters were reviewed, and Tony, Fury, and Steve went over details.

The mission would deploy tomorrow.

The meeting adjourned, and Chris took a steadying breath. Her plan was in place and if Nat did everything right, and Chris couldn't imagine that she didn't, she'd have exactly what she wanted.

The bad news was, she had only hours to examine the data. And a doctor's appointment too.

Knowing they had a lot to do to get ready, Steve helped her up from the chair. "I'll walk her back to up to the apartment if you want to get started, Buck."

"I'll walk her up," Natasha offered. "I've got to run up to my place anyway."

Before her boys could debate it, Chris smiled. "I'll go with Nat. You two head on. I'll just be so glad when this is over with."

The weepy way she said that earned her kisses from both, Steve's hand rubbing soft circles in the middle of her back.

"Just stay put," Steve instructed her. "If someone comes to visit you, FRIDAY will let me know."

"I have a doctor's appointment, Steve," she reminded him. "At 3. What about that?"

He and Bucky communicated silently. "Just a routine visit, right?" Steve asked.

She nodded.

"I'll see if Dr. Meadows can come up to see you at the apartment, how about that?" he offered.

Chris shrugged. That was fine with her.

She and Nat just chit chatted until they got off the elevator on her floor. Once they were inside Chris's apartment, Nat gave her the small drive back.

"I hope you can get what you need," Nat told her.

Chris gave her a huge hug. "I'm sure I will. I can't thank you enough."

Nat smirked. "Don't thank me yet. If you actually get something, then you can buy me dinner or something."

"Deal!"

Nat headed out to get ready and Chris headed for her cave.

The utility she'd given Nat to use was very black hat, a spider meant to grab certain file types, to look for certain sizes and dates. Everyone did naming conventions differently so she knew she'd be flying blind there.

The results seemed basic at first and Chris sighed in defeat, seeing very little. Until she noticed that an apparent junk file, grabbed only because of its size, was grabbed. Within it, she found quite a lot.

Ross had the plans for the resurrection on Project Inside. He had the algorithm. The fucking  _algorithm_.

What was Ross doing with it? Had he been part of HYDRA all along? Or did he mean to use it against someone? She didn't understand.

Then she found a good deal of information on the Avengers Initiative. There were meeting notes, official missives, proposals. Apparently, Ross wanted the entire initiative dissolved but how could one politically do that? They couldn't just make the set of heroes disappear with so many fans and appreciative citizens out there. They couldn't control them – they'd proven that.

Frame them?

The more she read, the more she started to realize what the plan was. Ross meant to make it appear that Tony Stark himself was trying to resurrect Project Insight, a project to take out now anyone who was perceived to be a threat to the Avengers who then meant to try and take over…?

Who the hell would believe that? Tony was what he was, but no one would buy him being a HYDRA-level megalomaniac seeking world domination with the rest of the team.

Chris's head began to ache. Correspondence about the Avengers Initiative on an official level finally started to die down around October of the year before. It was like Ross hit a wall, decided to give up.

The date of the next file got her attention. It was dated Thanksgiving of last year. November 22, 2018.

Private notes Ross made with a couple of slides. A presentation he'd given to someone.  _Someone._  Who? Who on earth would be persuaded to go along with him on such a crazy, hair-brained idea? Who would allow themselves to be convinced that Tony Stark, Steve Rogers and the rest of the Avengers would try to take over the planet?

The notes were very detailed. Mentions of Steve caught her eye. Of course. Steve had rejected the accords before. It would look like the entire plan was born of the disagreement between Tony and Steve on how the Avengers continued serving the planet. It almost made it seem that Steve would only agree if they had complete control prompting Tony to say "hey, let's just take over the world."

What was the significance of Thanksgiving?

Chris had just opened another file when it hit her.

Thanksgiving was the day that both Tony and Bucky announced that she and Pepper were pregnant at their holiday dinner.

_Fuck._

In Ross's head, the Avengers were such a threat that he needed to eliminate them – somehow – before they could hatch another generation. Was that it?

Chris felt sick.

Fury had also been worried about word getting out. She thought about the people in their group who had known. Who among them would help Ross?

Or did he have bugs around them?

Surely she and Tony would have detected that.

Rising from her chair because her lower back ached, Chris began to pace. How did Ross think he was going to get away with this? What did it all mean for the team tomorrow? Were they heading straight in for a trap? The last files detailed the mission he was about to send them on, but all of those files looked official, aboveboard.

Did Ross mean to kill them all? And if any of them survived, they'd have evidence to show how they'd tried to take over?

Chris had meant to find something she could use against Ross, to dump it before he could stop it and let the world at large judge him for his many crimes. While some of his "notes" could be incriminating, there wasn't anything there to actually prove intent. There was nothing about his transaction in selling her to Odysseus.

_What was coming?_

She had some water, she paced some more. In the end, she decided she needed to tell Steve, Tony, and Fury what she'd found.

She hadn't realized it was 3 PM.

"Dr. Meadows has arrived," FRIDAY announced.

She really wished she didn't have an appointment today of all days. Maybe she could just tell her she wasn't feeling well and get out of it that way.

When she opened the door, Dr. Meadows smiled at her. The OBGYN had been taking care of her at Helen's recommendation and Chris was fond of her. It just wasn't a good time.

"Are you okay?" the other woman asked, walking in while Chris held the door for her.

Chris bit her lip. "You know, I'm not having such a good day. I'm really sorry."

"It's no problem," Dr. Meadows placed her bag down on the coffee table. "Let's just make this a quick check and I'll let you get some rest, okay?"

Chris nodded. Her anxiety level was climbing.

"Do you feel okay physically? Is it anything to do with the baby?"

Chris shook her head. "No, I don't think so. It's just… Not feeling well in general. I think it's just that I haven't been sleeping well. I'll go to bed early tonight.

The doctor hummed, motioned for her to sit down on the couch. Chris's phone hummed from the coffee table before her. While Dr. Meadows was taking her blood pressure, Chris snatched up her phone to see she had a text.

From Phil.

SKJ08U7342: Are you home?

Trying to angle the phone so she could be sure the doctor couldn't see the screen, Chris quickly considered the text.

Chris: Yes.

SKJ08U7342: Can you stay until I get there? I needed to go over plans for tomorrow.

Chris's heart dropped. Something was  _very_  wrong. The text was intended to let her know that and to let her know he was coming for her. Phil never put in anything important in writing directly.

"Relax," Dr. Meadows whispered as the blood pressure cuff squeezed her arm.

Chris: I'll be here the rest of the day. Did you need Steve and Bucky too?

"Your blood pressure is off the charts," the doctor told her with a wince.

"I'm so sorry," she told her, her hands shaking.

SKJ08U7342: Be there in 5.

Dropping her phone to the table, Chris gave the doctor her attention now. If she were in danger, the doctor with her was in too. The poor woman didn't deserve that, not for trying to help her.

"Dr. Meadows?" Chris said slowly. "I don't mean to be rude, but can I talk to you another time?"

The doctor's warm brown eyes widened. "Is everything okay?"

Chris typed. Fast.

Chris: Remind me to have Steve talk to Nat. And to have Tony check out of my desktop. I picked up some virus called Poseidon.

Turning her attention back to the doctor, she smiled. Trying to put the other woman at ease.

Chris never noticed the woman held a slim cannister in her hand. "I'm sorry."

The spray was deployed in her face and then her world went black.

* * *

Phil knew before he hit the hallways something was wrong. He hit the com.

"We have an Athena alert," he said calmly, knowing it in his gut.

Sirens began blaring a beat later and Phil knew that the elevators and stairwells would automatically be sealed off to those not authorized given the seriousness of the alert.

Stopping at Captain Rogers' apartment, Phil used his thumbprint to get in, having authorization in such a situation. Nothing looked out of place, a quick check revealed that Chris wasn't there.

"FRIDAY, where did they take Agent Danforth?" Phil demanded.

"They are on the roof," the AI responded.

"En route," Tony was on the com now and Phil heard his boosters in the background.

"We're coming up on the south side," Captain Rogers advised him.

"I'll take the north side," Tony told them.

He didn't use it often, but Phil took out his work phone with all the Stark tech, shook out the image to display where he stood in the living room. "Show me the roof," Phil ordered the AI.

A small group of soldiers in all black uniforms followed the woman they knew as Dr. Meadows, had just reached a helicopter waiting on the roof. Four of the men surrounded one soldier who carried Chris Danforth easily in his arms.

Tony flew in, placing himself between the helicopter door and the group. The situation wasn't ideal because extreme care had to be exercised with Danforth's delicate condition.

When Captain Rogers arrived on the roof, Barnes at his back, he slowly approached, taking in the situation. When he saw the doctor, his expression hardened.

"Give back Agent Danforth now," Tony ordered, taking a step closer to them as they took a step closer to the vehicle. Unlike Steve, Tony had been able to suit up and didn't look worried. "OBGYN, huh?"

The woman they'd known as Dr. Meadows nodded. "I am."

"Working for who?" Steve asked angrily.

When there was no answer, a fight broke out. Dr. Meadows looked uneasy as the four soldiers around the one carrying Agent Danforth began firing. Captain Rogers did have his shield. Between it and Barnes's arm, they deflected enough bullets to move closer. Just when it looked as if they were gaining the upper hand, they turned to find the doctor with a hypodermic needle poised at Danforth's throat. The young pregnant woman still lay unconscious in the arms of the soldier carrying her.

"Make one more move I don't like," the woman said angrily, "and I'll inject this and kill them both."

"Why are you doing this?" Barnes' frustration was clear in his tone.

"This child is crucial to my research," the woman told him coldly.

"That child is ours," Steve's voice was low.

"Behind you!" Phil called on the com, watching in horror as two more men climbed over the side of the building.

The two new soldiers yielded guns firing rays of gold like the Destroyer protype gun Fury had entrusted him with. One blast of it had Iron Man fighting back hard. The other fired at Rogers whose back was to him. Barnes blocked the shot with his Vibranium arm, giving Rogers time to turn and deal with him.

The next volley sent Iron Man flying off the roof. Rogers and Barnes and then faced the two. One of them then fired a blue ray, hitting Barnes and dropping him to the ground unconscious. Before Captain Rogers could deal with that, he found himself facing two of them with weaponry that was highly dangerous and new to them.

Phil was on the move, heading for the roof. He didn't stop, fight for breath. His captain needed him and a group of SHIELD agents, led by Black Widow, were on his heels, coming from he didn't know where.

When Phil reached the roof, the helicopter was in flight but still in view. Three bodies, clothed in black, lay scattered around Captain Rogers who was on his knees, struggling to breathe. No sign of Iron Man or Barnes. One soldier remained on his feet with one of the new weapons. Aiming it under his own chin, he pulled the trigger, dropping to the rooftop without a head.

The sound of Captain Rogers' scream could likely be heard for miles.

Phil didn't know at that moment, but they'd not only taken Agent Danforth and the child she carried, they'd also taken Bucky Barnes. And Tony Stark was seriously injured, on the ground several floors below them.


	37. Chapter 37

Steve Rogers was  _done_.

On his knees, on the roof of the compound where they'd taken the three people he loved the most, he felt like he was shaking apart on the inside. The lower half of his training shirt hung in ashes from where he'd taken a hit from their weapons, one that was eerily similar to the ones Fury and SHIELD had been developing before SHIELD fell, rotted from the inside by HYDRA.

His flesh was charred, and the pain was sharp as he worked to pull himself up to stand.

"Steve," Natasha's voice was pitched low as she approached, her eyes wide on him. She held out a slender hand to him, helping him to stand. "I'm so sorry."

Steve didn't question Nat's loyalty. There she stood with a group of SHIELD agents to help, Phil Coulson with her.

"Agent Coulson," Steve's voice shook but he fought it. "Take the agents and go help, Tony. Report back."

Nodding, Coulson dashed off to do his bidding, the men following.

Steve pulled himself up, straightened his shoulders. Nat pulled her shoulders back.

"Call it, Cap," Nat told him with a steely look in her eye that he welcomed just now.

"First we find Fury," he told her and began marching towards the door with Nat on his heels.

By the time they'd reached the lower levels of the compound, they caught Pepper scrambling towards medical which reminded them…

"Status on Stark," Nat said into the com as they walked to the offices.

"Mr. Stark's condition is stable," Coulson said into the com. "He's asking to see you."

"Be there shortly," she told him just as they reached Fury's office.

Steve didn't knock and the office wasn't locked. Fury wasn't there.

"FRIDAY, I need a status on Director Fury," Steve commanded, fighting back the pain in his side which was nothing compared to the pain of watching his family being taken away from him while he was powerless to do anything about it.

"Director Fury isn't on the grounds," the AI answered immediately. "He left only a few moments ago with Secretary Ross."

"Willingly?" Steve demanded.

If Fury was in on the taking of his family, Steve would personally see to it that he went down too. His heart denied that possibility.

"I'm bringing up the video now, Captain Rogers."

A huge virtual screen appeared before them, and Steve and Nat watched as Ross marched out the compound front door, the footage from 27 minutes ago, followed by six soldiers, surrounding Fury. The recording didn't give them a clean view of the older man's facial expression, but Nat was reading everything about it, body language and other clues, as only she could.

"He didn't go willingly, Steve," Nat told him what he already knew in his heart.

Steve just wanted to be sure.

"Captain Rogers," Coulson stepped into the office behind him. "I need to show you both something."

Pulling out his phone, Coulson showed him and Nat a text conversation that had taken place between he and Chris.

SKJ08U7342: Are you home?

Chris: Yes.

SKJ08U7342: Can you stay until I get there? I needed to go over plans for tomorrow.

Chris: I'll be here the rest of the day. Did you need Steve and Bucky too?

SKJ08U7342: Be there in 5.

Chris: Remind me to have Steve talk to Nat. And to have Tony check out of my desktop. I picked up some virus called BLU.

Nat's gaze lifted from the phone to Steve. "Let's talk at your place."

They headed for the elevators and Steve was on Coulson the moment the elevator doors slid closed. "You were on to something when you were on your way to her."

Phil nodded. Pointing up which Steve took as he would tell him once they reached Steve's apartment.

Once they were in the living room, Steve took a deep breath. "FRIDAY, I need to make sure there's no one listening to anything said in this apartment until instructed otherwise."

"I'll do a scan, Captain Rogers," the AI told him. After only a couple of moments, the AI reported back. "No outside devices or listening agents have been detected. You have complete privacy with no recording, Captain Rogers."

"You normally record us in our apartments?" Steve wanted to know, on a short fuse as it was.

"Agent Danforth requests that I record interactions from time to time," the AI explained. "Never involving the three of you who live here."

"Can we see a listing of those files please?" Coulson requested politely.

"With Captain Rogers' permission, Agent Coulson."

"Granted," Steve said.

Another virtual screen appeared with a short list of recordings. The last one was from moments ago.

"FRIDAY, please play the file from today." Steve wanted to see it.

The recording had started when Chris had allowed Dr. Meadows, or whoever the woman really was, into the apartment. The woman had coldly explained Chris's baby,  _their_  baby, was crucial to her research so he could only pray that kept Chris and the baby safe until he could get them. Still, his blood ran cold as he watched Chris nervously interact with the doctor.

"She was upset about something," Nat said watching, "before that woman arrived."

Steve saw her hands shake as she tried to text someone, now he knew it was Phil, and allow the woman to take her blood pressure. It seemed like an ordinary visit until he watched Dr. Meadows, seeing Chris was distracted and typing into her phone, pull a small can from her purse and spray it in his girl's face. At least she was already on the couch and didn't fall to the floor once she was knocked unconscious.

His blood boiled as he watched the doctor speaking into her own comlink, signaling the men who'd helped her take Chris and their baby away from him along with Bucky. Steve's gaze dropped as the video ended.

"You were trying to reach her," he said to Coulson. "What about?"

"Directory Fury was contacted by Dr. Sue Meadows this afternoon," Coulson explained. "The doctor had just returned from her own maternity leave and apologized about not being able to help with Agent Danforth to this point."

Steve stared at the other man in disbelief.

"I realized that the agent Chris knew as Dr. Meadows was heading up to your apartment. I was trying to reach her. Fury was supposed to come find  _you_."

"Ross got him first," Nat cut in and Coulson nodded.

"Why did Chris want you to remind her to have Nat and I talk?" Steve asked Coulson.

Motioning him towards Chris's girl cave, Nat pushed the button to open the sliding door. Immediately, Nat got on Chris's computer, searching for BLU and finding the files pretty quickly.

"During the meeting we had early with Ross, Chris had me to try and grab intel from his laptop," Nat explained to him and Coulson. "I'm guessing what she found was why she was upset. The way she worded that text indicated that if she herself didn't tell you about this, Steve, she wanted Phil to ensure that you and I talked. It sounds like she realized she was compromised."

Steve had never been more grateful that Nat was proficient on computers and it didn't take long for them to determine what Chris had found.

Steve was furious. Ross had the plans  _and_  Zola's algorithm and had for some time. That Ross wanted to rid the world of the Avengers' Initiative was no surprise. That he meant to make it appear that Tony was the one behind the resurrection of Project Insight was almost laughable.

"How the hell does he think anyone is going to buy that?" Steve couldn't wrap his mind around it.

"By taking control of two people he knows the government and the people will believe beyond a shadow of a doubt," Tony's voice was rough from behind them, he and Pepper had just walked into the apartment, her hand nervously resting on the swell of her tummy as she closed the door. Tony looked as if he'd taken a thorough beating. "He  _has_  Fury and he means to control you because he has Chris, Bucky, and Tony Jr. The question is,  _what_  are  _we_  going to do about it?"

"Just because Steve is under duress and not addressing that Tony Jr. reference is in no way acquiescing or in any way agreeing to it," Nat told Tony boldly before anything else could be said.

"We'll see," Tony told her before turning back to Steve who was really just glad to see Tony in one piece.

"I'm going to get my family back," Steve told him with absolute certainty. "That's all I plan to deal with right now."

Tony nodded. "We'll need to figure out where he's taken them. I want a copy of those files. Just maybe the answer is in there. FRIDAY? I need a copy of everything on Agent Danforth's hard drives."

"On it, boss."

"The woman we thought was Dr. Meadows said our child was crucial to her research," Steve offered. "Maybe there's a clue in that too."

Tony nodded. "I called the team back, they'll be here before sundown. Hopefully, by then, we'll have a location."

Steve hoped with everything in him that they find them fast. Chris's pregnancy might buy her a little time. Bucky? What was to stop Ross from disposing of him immediately?

His heart shredded in his chest. Steve just wanted them back safe, and in his arms, where they belonged.

"Tony, you okay?" Steve had to ask, noticing his friend's limp as he headed back out of the apartment. Turning he smirked at him over his shoulder. "I'll live, old man."

Steve nodded as Tony stopped, glancing back over his shoulder at him.

"You will too. We'll get them back, Steve. Danforth is my number 2 employee at Stark Industries. After Pepper Potts."

His heart swelled with hope at the fierce determination in his friend's hazel eyes.

Steve showered and changed clothes, refusing medical treatment. Heading down to see if Tony had been able to find anything, he was also anxious for the team to be back within the hour.

What he hadn't expected was to see King T'Challa walk into the compound with Okoye and several Dora Milaje on his heels. Steve smiled, dashing up to hug the monarch.

"I'm glad to see you," Steve admitted. "Did Tony send for you?"

T'Challa shook his head. "Your Agent Coulson did."

Steve was grateful either way. Knowing how much of a friend Coulson had become to their Chris since he'd helped save her from the first kidnapping attempt, made him grateful.

"Just hoping for some leads on where they might have been taken," Steve told him as they walked in the direction of Tony's office.

"Perhaps we can help with that," T'Challa told him with a knowing smile.

Steve began to feel something like hope.

He and Bucky had been through so much. He prayed with everything in him that Ross didn't hurt Bucky, that his best friend and lover could hang on until he could get there. And he'd be there with the team very soon.

It was Chris's face that haunted him. Her big gray eyes, hollowed and filled with terror in the days when they'd recovered her from the first time Ross had taken her, broke his heart. He couldn't believe he'd failed her, allowed her to fall right back into the bastard's clutches.

If she could just hang on…

Steve loved them. And they were all  _his_. When he got them back, not if  _when,_  he'd make it official somehow. He'd make sure they knew they belonged to him.

 

* * *

 

 

Chris awoke with her mouth extremely dry and feeling disoriented. Instinctively she stretched her hands out on either side of her on the bed, expecting to find her lovers there. Her hands found nothing even though she was quite warm.

Sitting up, Chris's sluggish gaze shifted over the unfamiliar room. There were nice furnishings and paintings, a nice room. But one she didn't know.

Someone had taken her from the compound.

Dr. Meadows? Last thing she remembered was being sprayed in the face with something by the woman. And then she'd just snuck her off the compound? Chris couldn't see it happening.

Unsteady as she was, Chris was able to throw her legs over the side of the bed and made her way to the room's single window. Pulling back the elegant drapes covering it, Chris released a deep sigh.

_Bars on the window. Of course._

Did they think Peter Parker had taught her how to crawl walls and she was going to go for it when best she could tell, she was at least ten stories up? At six months pregnant?

Ross was still ahead of her.  _Always fucking Ross._

Considering what he'd pulled last time, selling her to an enemy she'd made in her time with the FBI who'd beaten her like an animal and had caused her to lose her first child, she wouldn't put anything past him.

Her hand curled protectively over her son. "Ross isn't going to hurt you," she whispered quietly, assuming she was being watched. "I'm going to take care of you. And your Daddies will make him pay."

With every fiber of her being, she promised the universe that Ross would pay for the loss of her first child. He wouldn't lay a hand on their son.

Her gaze scanned the room. It wasn't a hotel but an elaborate building not unlike Tony's compound. There was a bathroom with a huge tube, a mini fridge with some drinks and snacks.

And sitting inconspicuously atop the dresser was an older laptop.

_Was this a joke?_

She had just been about to open it and try to boot it when someone knocked at her door. A moment later two armed guards opened the door to her room, allowing "Dr. Meadows" and Ross in.

Chris shook her head, moving to perch on the edge of the bed.

"Ah good," Ross said pleasantly. "You're awake."

There were no words to express how much she fucking hated the man. Chris mutely glared at him as he walked further into the room.

"How are you feeling?" the female doctor asked her, just as she always did.

"Who  _are_  you?" Chris wanted to know.

The woman's smiled was friendly. "You know me as Doctor Meadows. I don't see any reason why that has to change."

"Except you're not her," Chris said calmly.

"She's here to take care of you and your baby," Ross was trying to sound perfectly reasonable. "It's in your best interest to allow her to look after you both."

"Or what? You'll have me beaten like an animal like the last time you kidnapped me?" Chris said angrily, not missing the way "Dr. Meadows" looked to him in surprise and alarm. "I was pregnant then too. Did you know that? You cost me my first child."

Ross's eyes narrowed on her and he paid the other woman no attention at all.

"You weren't supposed to have survived at all," Ross said with a chilling smile.

"You think I didn't know that?" Chris shook her head. Before she may have been afraid of the bastard and what he could do. Now? He'd better hope  _he_  got out alive. Chris had no doubt in her heart that her boys would come for her. But they'd have to fight her for the privilege of killing Ross. "What's your game now?"

"No game," Ross said calmly.

"Okay, great." Chris smiled. "Then I can go back to the compound. Right?"

"Your place is right here," Ross told her.

"My place is with Steve and Bucky," Chris informed him.

"Yes, your disgusting, lewd relationship," Ross said with a sneer.

Chris laughed at him outright. "Yeah, I pegged you for a hater. People like you are so busy passing judgment on those of us who don't agree with you, that you can't just be grateful that people care about one another, love each other. What does it matter to you who or how I love?"

Ross took a step closer, meaning to intimidate her. And a few months ago, it might have worked. Chris didn't flinch.

"It matters who you love because I need Rogers to help me dissolve the Avengers Initiative," he said coldly.

"And kidnapping me and our child is going to make him change his mind about  _anything_?" Chris huffed out another laugh but there was no humor in it. "You've met him, right?"

"If Rogers ever wants to see his little family again, he'll do precisely what I want when I want," Ross told her.

Chris rose from the bed. "Don't think because you have me and the baby that you can manipulate Steve," she warned.

"I have Fury." Ross took a step closer. "I have Barnes too."

 _That_  stopped her cold. He had Bucky?  _And_  Fury? How the fuck did that happen?

Chris shook her head. "I don't believe you."

"You want to see him?" Ross smirked at her before turning back to the laptop she'd just been about to boot. Lifting the screen, the laptop was already on and showed four security camera views. Two of them showed her Bucky, in serious restraints that apparently could contain his vibranium arm. His face and arms were littered with cuts, he was bleeding. He sat in the cell where they were keeping him, his expression stony as he stared ahead. The other two views showed Fury, calmly resting in a similar cell.

 _Smart._  Chris fought to keep her expression neutral.

Steve loved her and the baby she carried. Chris knew that. But he'd move heaven and hell for Bucky. And if this bastard even  _tried_  to take him away from Steve again after everything they'd been through?

_Hell hath no fury like a pregnant, empathic FBI agent out for revenge._

Ross didn't realize that he just threw more fuel on the fire. Before when she'd been taken, she'd underestimated how much her boys loved her. Now she was secure in that love. And she had two of her boys to fight for until Steve came for them.

That he had Bucky changed things.

_Game on, Ross._

"Just so there's no confusion," Ross told her, his hands shoved in the pockets of his suit coat like he hadn't a care in the world. "Rogers has enjoyed you apparently and I see where you've been useful seeing that he and his  _true love_  can't exactly procreate."

Ross in his narrow-mindedness had decided that Steve and Bucky were strictly gay, and she was their groupie who'd signed on to be a baby momma.

_Okay…_

"I'm sure he cares about the child," Ross informed her. "But his first priority will  _always_  be Barnes. He's demonstrated that so many times, Danforth, for decades."

 _It should be Bucky._ Chris really didn't have an argument for that.

If Chris wanted to protect both her boys, she'd have to be clever. Reaching out, she felt Ross's determination to hurt her, to inflict pain. He needed to think he could make her doubt Steve's love for  _her_. It was cruel but it was the goal. If she played along, maybe he'd keep talking.

Thinking about losing her first baby, that precious little soul that had been gone before she knew, tears stung the backs of her eyes. In her mind's eye, she could see all the blood in that cell where Phil found her… She felt her face warm. Protectively, her hands went to her baby bump and she sank down onto the edge of the bed.

"Steve loves me too," Chris deliberately made her voice sound small.

Ross's emotions shifted to amusement. He laughed. " _Sure_  he does."

A tear slid down her cheek as he pretended to be interested in watching Bucky stare into space. Ross was  _delighted_  to see her tears come on, she felt it.

"Your purpose here," Ross informed her, "your  _only_ purpose is to motivate Barnes. I'm sure he  _loves_  you too, but a man of his generation won't be able to tolerate threats to a woman in "delicate condition". He'll do and say what I tell  _him_  because I have  _you_."

Ross's confidence was growing. Chris struggled to channel her emotions into anything but anger.  _Remember the blood. Remember the pain. Remember…_

"Barnes is the key to controlling Rogers."

Chris began to sob. Honestly, she was so pissed off at that point that it was easy. Her shoulders shook. Oh, she was sure she made a pitiful picture.

"What… w-what happens to us when you stop the Initiative?" Chris was proud of slight fear-stutter she managed. "You'll let us go. Right?"

Ross stared at her hard, his eyes narrowing. His emotions shifted to something dark and triumphant, something that really did have her pausing as she absorbed  _that._

"Whatever gave you that idea?" Ross asked her. "Barnes, like Rogers, should have died a long time ago. I could remedy that. But it's to our advantage to find a use for him. And considering who he is, a fucking former assassin for an enemy force, no one is going to create a stir when he disappears. No one is going to care."

_So many people would care, you dumb asshole…_

Chris rounded her eyes, feigning fear. It wasn't all acting. Part of Chris was very afraid of the man looming over her.

"For years, scientists have been seeking a way to replicate Erskine's serum, to find the key to creating more super soldiers with little success. But our good doctor here assures me between the child in your womb and Barnes, we'll be quite a bit closer to unlocking that secret. The serum used on Barnes was at least a derivative of Erskine's original formula. And if the baby you carry is Rogers'…"

Chris brought on more tears, increased her breathing. She wanted him to think she was having a full-on panic attack.

"What if… the baby is Bucky's?" Chris asked fearfully.

"Almost as good," Ross told her.

Chris didn't ask what the plan for her was, once she delivered the baby. Ross had no use for her, believed her to be an online criminal. She had no doubt that an "unfortunate accident" would be his plans for  _her_  future.

"He'll come for us," Chris said tearfully.

"I want him to," Ross told her. "I'm ready."

With that, he opened the door and motioned to someone just beyond it. A woman dressed in black slacks and a white dress shirt rolled in a fancy cart with covered dishes.

"Did you bring the shot?" Ross asked the doctor.

The other woman looked appalled. "It's not in the best interest of either her or the child to sedate them."

Ross looked at her like she had two heads with six eyes between them.

"She's six months pregnant," the doctor pointed out. "I don't think she's that big of an escape risk."

Chris shuddered at the rage Ross was holding back, angry that they were discussing this in front of one of their captives.

With a literal growl, Ross stormed out of the room, leaving the doctor standing there awkwardly.

"We'll return in the morning. It's in your best interest and that of the child for you to eat and sleep. If you need anything, there's a call button by the bathroom door."

Chris nodded, acting afraid of the woman now too. The doctor had more than a little sympathy for her plight. That could prove useful.

Chris nodded, bowing her head. She didn't move again until they'd left the room.

Feigning a panic attack, she just knew they had a camera on her, Chris paced back and forth, looking around the room wildly like she was trying to breathe when she was really trying to find the camera.

And find it she did. Right atop the curtains of the window.

With a deep sigh, she proceeded to pretend she was calming down. Began to look over the meal. After the end of that conversation, she didn't think there was anything in that food to hurt her or knock her out. She  _would_  need to keep her strength up.

Once she finished with her dinner, she walked to the laptop, stroking Bucky's face on the screen. She hated that blank look on his face. It reminded her of the days when he…

Bucky Barnes was one of the men she loved. The Winter Soldier was not him.

"I love you," she whispered. "I'm going to get you and our son back to Steve. No matter what it takes. I promise."

Chris has learned and grown so much in her time with her soldiers.

Steve had taught her strategy in a way the bureau never had. An FBI agent only needed to know their small part of the plan. Steve had to orchestrate plans for the entire Avengers' team, and she paid attention to his discussions with Bucky, the meetings she was involved in. She could do this.

From Bucky, Chris had learned that one could survive quite a bit. More and more lately he'd been sharing some of his memories with them. She agreed with Steve that the loving home they'd created had diminished his nightmares, made him more like the young man Steve had fallen in love with decades ago in Brooklyn. If Bucky could survive all that he had, she'd  _sure as hell_  make it through this.

The two of them didn't deserve to go through this and Chris was going to do all she could to remedy the situation.

Ross had tried to get rid of her once and the two of them, with Phil's help, had been her strength. They came for her, nurtured her. It no longer mattered to her if they loved each other more than they did her. She loved  _them_  with all that she was and just maybe her place was to protect that love and the love they had for each other. Just as she would protect their baby.

Chris would  _never_  crumble or cower again. Not with so much to fight for.

Mentally, she began making her list. She needed to gather intel on that camera, needed to find a way to either knock it down or loop it so she could move on to the next part of her operation.

Steve and the team would be there soon. There was no doubt in her mind. And she would be ready.


	38. Chapter 38

Tony's laughter drew Steve's attention as he and T'Challa watched him, Vision, and Okoye try to determine anything on a location. Ross's Siberian location had been fake. It had been a couple of hours and Steve's anxiety was wearing on him.

Tony was cackling with delight. Nat frowned at him. "What's so funny?"

"C'mere," Tony told them.

Steve beat Natasha to him at the panel of screens and as much of a techno-dunce as he was, he immediately saw what Tony was talking about.

_Athena._

Steve's heart swelled with hope seeing the user name. "Is it her?"

Tony nodded, pointing to a series of commands that made absolutely no sense to him. But it was  _her_. At least he hoped it was because if so, she was alive.

"She's using  _this_  network," Nat observed. "What's she doing?"

"Fucking with Ross," Tony told them.

But what were the consequences of her actions?

"FRIDAY?"

"Yes, boss."

"Fire up our jet," Tony commanded. "We've got a rescue mission."

"Right away, boss."

"We have a location?" Steve was almost afraid to hope.

"Oh, we do," Tony told him. "New Zealand. Let's go get 'em, Cap."

Tony rose and stretched, noticing Steve was rooted to the spot as the others filtered out. A look of realization crossed his features.

"What's wrong?"

"Are they going to catch her doing… whatever she's doing?" Steve wanted to know.

"Maybe, but I doubt it. She's planning a prison riot from the looks of it," Tony's grin widened. "We need to leave now. She's calculated the amount of time it will take us to get there and has her protocols set within thirty minutes of that time."

"She knew you'd see her?" Steve wanted to know.

"She did."

Steve followed Tony as he headed out of the offices. "What did she do?"

"She's made it look like she's sound asleep in her bed," Tony flashed his phone at Steve who grabbed it, seeing their girl curled on her side and looking fast asleep on the camera feed.

Steve was trying to understand the situation.

"She's planning complete chaos for around the time we get there. I've got FRIDAY pulling up layouts of the building. Fury and Barnes are in holding cells in the basement. Shouldn't be too hard of a rescue."

Steve was suited up and on the jet in record speed, hoping with everything in him to get them back safely. To get them back home.

"Anything else?" Steve asked. "She still online?"

Tony shook his head. "She's done for now."

"Hope they don't figure out whatever she did," Steve mused.

Tony shook his head, motioning Steve onto the ramp. "Ross was right about one thing whether you want to admit it or not. Your girl was an international cybercriminal. A damned good one."

He didn't care what Chris was at the moment. He just wanted his family – her, Bucky, and the baby – back home with him where they belonged. They were his.

And once they were secure, he would deal with Ross himself.

God help him if he'd laid a finger on his guy, his girl, or their child.

* * *

The slight hum kept Bucky from nodding off. The small click of the cell door got his attention, had him leaping up to push the door. It gave to allow him to exit.

That got Fury's attention. He'd been stretched out on the narrow bench that was supposed to be a bed. By the time he sat up, Bucky had slung open his door.

"Steve must be here," Bucky mused, checking around the cell holding area for any weapons…

"Looking for this?" Chris smiled at him, holding up a pair of keys.

Bucky's heart dropped, his gaze moving up and down her and not seeing any injuries. She looked tired but unharmed, standing there with one hand on their son inside her and the other holding a key ring bigger than her hand. He snatched her up for a quick kiss. "I love you," he whispered in her ear. "You feel okay?"

Chris nodded, smiling and snuggling into him.

Bucky had to get them out of there.

"What did you do?" he asked.

"Steve and Tony are on their way with the team," Chris explained. "They'll be here any moment."

Bucky didn't know how she knew that but decided to go with it. Snatching the keys from her, he tried the door behind her and found a nice arsenal. He selected several handguns and a rifle, handing off a couple of things to Fury and Chris, when they heard running in the hallway.

One soldier ran into the cell holding area, looking twice at the cells in his surprise to see them empty. It gave Chris the opportunity she needed to hit him on the back of the head and bring him down.

"What are you doing?" Bucky hissed, not able to reconcile watching his tiny, pregnant lover knock down a fully outfitted soldier about his size.

Chris just stared at him like he'd spoken a foreign language.

Before she could say whatever she was going to say, Bucky shoved her behind him and Fury stepped in front of her too. It didn't take the rest of the guards to figure out something was amiss. Bucky had just started firing when the alarm started blaring.

"Okay, we have to start heading for the exit now," Chris told them.

"Stay behind me, doll baby," Bucky told her. "I mean it."

"I will," she promised.

After dispatching the first squad, Chris guided them in the direction of a control room. There were a few office types in there, looking distraught at the panels around them.

"They are wondering how the quinjet was just cleared for landing," Chris snorted.

"You been busy?" Bucky asked with a smirk.

"I've missed this," she said. "Not going to lie."

Fury and Bucky took over the control room and once the three men were herded out by Fury, Chris took charge of the controls. Bucky watched in amazement as she began typing in crazy sequences of commands and he had no idea what any of it was.

"Tony?" Chris final spoke into a mic. "You guys there?"

The quinjet was out there. She'd pegged it.

"I'm here, Danforth," Stark's voice answered.

"I'm here too," a deep familiar voice said.

"Steve?"

"Everybody okay?" Steve's tone was gentler than his usual Captain's tone.

"So far," she told him. "Really looking forward to going home."

"That's why we're here," Steve said. "See you in five."

An alarming number of guards swarmed out of the compound as he watched, heading for the jet. Bucky watched as Tony and Vision flew out first, followed by Sam. Steve, Nat, and bless him, King T'Challa, ran down the ramp followed by Okoye, her Doa Milaje then Wanda and Clint.

Now it was a party.

Still, Bucky had to get Chris safely out of the compound and to the jet without her being hurt. The last time he'd tried to get her onto a jet to safety flashed in his mind. It was the day he'd met her. And she'd gotten shot.

Not today.

Bucky crowded her to get to the mic. "How secure is this?"

"It's okay for the moment," Chris told him, her eyes widening as she watched approaching soldiers through the huge glass windows of the room.

"Steve," Bucky spoke into it. "We need to get her out. Ground floor, center. We're in a control room."

"On my way to you," Steve's Captain voice was on now.

Bucky grinned, missing that voice, that face.

When the soldiers aimed at the glass, Chris dropped to the floor before Bucky did, amazing him with her speed given her condition. The glass shattered, not bullet-proof and Fury was firing on them with Bucky a beat behind as they exchanged gunfire.

One bullet hit Bucky's shoulder. He heard Chris hiss, saw her draw her revolver and ready herself.

"Don't you fucking dare," Bucky yelled at her, terrified she'd try to jump into the fight.

"You're shot!"

"I don't feel it, baby doll."

Chris stayed down until Bucky hauled her up, knowing they couldn't stay where they were.

A man ran down the corridor aiming for Bucky but then his throat was pierced by an arrow.

"I've got eyes on Barnes," Clint called into his com.

T'Challa was behind him but so were dozens of armed men and everything just got crazy.

Wanda was able to clear the hallway for the most part, Nat and Steve on her heels.

"Where's Chris?" Steve's voice was tense.

Bucky whirled around to find her gone.

"Chris!" His heart leapt. She'd been right behind him.

And there she was, standing off against one of Ross's men who had Fury in his sites.

"Drop it," Chris said calmly.

"Chris!" Bucky yelled at her.

"Quiet!" she hissed back, not moving.

Bucky knew Steve couldn't risk slinging his shield in that direction. The corridor was too tight, and he couldn't risk hitting her. Bucky's heart flew as he crept closer, trying not to draw the other man's attention.

Bucky was for sure restricting her to the apartment when they got back. He couldn't  _take_  this. He hadn't known that sort of fear since he'd fished Steve out of the Potomac when the Triskelion fell and then he hadn't had full control of his own mind. Now he did. That fear of losing someone he knew he loved, that he  _needed_ , put him on the path to freedom. To Steve and Chris.

_Oh God, they couldn't lose her._

The second the soldier pulled the trigger so did Chris and Bucky's heart stopped, realizing the man had aimed at  _her_  and not Fury. Bucky was pretty sure he yelled as the soldier dropped, Chris got him in the throat, and he ran in her direction, waiting for her to slump lifelessly to the ground.

Only she was still standing, unharmed. Her gray eyes were wide on him as he reached her. He saw the bullet drop a foot from her, surrounded by familiar red energy.

_Wanda._

The witch smiled, blowing out a relieved exhale as she lowered her hands.

On some level, Bucky was aware of taking the gun away from Chris and grabbing her up into his arms. He was going back to the jet with her.  _Now_.

He must have yelled as much because Steve jumped in front of him, shield at the ready, to cover them. When he saw Okoye and her soldiers flanking him, he came a little out of the haze he was in. He felt he was coming back to himself. Maybe they'd make it. Just maybe he could get their girl and their baby out of harm's way.

Sam had them covered from the air as they fought their way out of the compound to head for the jet.

The whistle of a missile overhead stopped everything around him, had him dropping to the ground, shielding Chris with his own body. The Dora Milaje ducked around them and though it sounded muffled, he heard Steve's voice.

"Bucky, get her out of here!" Steve was deflecting bullets, trying to push past where they'd stopped. "Go!"

With the jet in sight, Bucky knew the greatest relief and fear. They were almost there. He just needed to get their girl  _there_.

In his mind's eye, he saw a jet and knew that Chris was running behind him. He remembered the sound of her scream when she'd been shot.

_Not this time._

"I've got you," Wanda yelled, shielding his back as he began running towards the jet. Okoye motioned for her soldiers to fall in behind Steve as Wanda kept pace with him, finally reaching the jet.

Wanda followed them up the ramp, watching him as he gently sat Chris on the first seat they reached. A blinding explosion came from nearby and his heart lurched.

"You okay, baby doll?" Bucky kneeled in front of her, looking her over.

 _Blood._ Blood ran down her left shoulder and arm in deep scarlet stains. Fear rooted him to the spot.

"Doll baby?" Bucky's gaze and hands began to frantically move over her. Wanda moved closer, her expression fearful.

"Bucky, no!" Chris gently pried his hands away. "I'm okay. It's not my blood… It's yours. Your shoulder…"

He stared numbly at her for a beat before looking to his right shoulder where he'd been shot. Sure enough the blood was  _his_. Exhaling his relief, he nodded.

Both women were looking at him like he'd lost his mind.

"Bucky," Chris said gently as the battle raged on outside. "You may  _be_  a super soldier, but you  _can_  bleed out."

Chris and Wanda started scrambling faster than he could think, the sounds of their movements and voices muted.

"There's an exit wound," Chris said from behind him, roughly pulling at his shirt. "We need to stop the bleeding."

"Wanda?" Steve's voice sound in the com the small witch wore.

"Go," Chris told her. "Go help Steve. I've got him."

As Wanda scrambled back off the jet, Chris pushed him down into a seat, it didn't take much, and got to work on stopping the bleeding.

"Stay with me," she whispered low in his ear and she pressed down on both sides. "Stay with  _us_. We need you. Okay?"

"Doll baby, I'm not going anywhere," Bucky assured her though he  _did_  feel as if he were in a daze as the battle outside continued violently.

* * *

When Steve spotted Ross walking up amidst all the chaos, he signaled his team to halt.

He was choking on his fury as he watched the man who took his family away stroll up dressed for combat, a small JSOC squad at his back.

"Rogers, stand down," Ross ordered harshly. "Immediately."

Steve waited, not wanting to say anything he didn't have to.

"Want to tell me why you're here? Taking more innocent American lives?" Ross asked with deadly calm. "Haven't the lot of you done enough damage?"

The Accords. Always the Accords.

"Want to tell me why you took Bucky Barnes and Christine Danforth against their will?" Steve said with equal calm.

Ross smirked at him. "I had authorization from the council to take Barnes into custody Rogers. It's widely believed he's unstable. It's only a matter of time before you lose control of him and what damage could the infamous Winter Soldier do if activated and turned loose? Do you really believe the Wakandans were able to remove all the triggers HYDRA placed there for several decades?"

"I do," Steve said.

What the  _hell_  was the man talking about? Bucky was nearly as stable now with him and Chris as he'd been before they'd ever gone off to war. He'd never been safer.

"My sister Shuri removed those triggers," T'Challa walked up now. "There is no question."

Ross smirked at the Wakandan king. "And you have nothing better to do than run around with the Avengers, your Grace?"

T'Challa squared his shoulders more. "I'm there for my friends when I am needed."

"Why Danforth?" Steve pressed. Why had he tried to take his girl?

"Agent Danforth is not our responsibility and never has been," Ross growled. "Fury and Stark had no right to move her under the umbrella of protection provided by the Avengers."

"She's an employee of Stark Industries," Tony landed next to Steve. "I'm sure you remember that. Let me guess. You were just keeping her here until you could safely return her to Crenshaw? Because her old boss? He hasn't heard anything about her from you."

Ross laughed. "Danforth is to go to a safehouse until such time it's deemed safe for her to return to her former life."

"She's pregnant with our child," Steve said forcefully.

"And that's a rather tawdry situation, isn't it, Rogers? You have no idea which of you is even the father," Ross told him. "Depraved as that is, once word gets out, it won't matter to your enemies who fathered the child. There will be a line of people trying to grab him, hoping to unlock Erskine's formula once and for all."

"Like the doctor with you who said our child would be part of her research?" Steve's temper was getting the better of him. "Who are you trying to fool? We can protect her and our child just fine."

"It's irresponsible and I have the council's approval to relocate her," Ross told him.

"She's mine!" Steve yelled, slinging the shield at Ross and taking him down to the ground. The man took a shot to the shoulder as the men with him resumed their attack.

It all went a little crazy after that. Steve saw red, taking down anyone and everyone who dared come at him until he could see a substantial thinning in the amount of soldiers left at Ross's disposal. Wanda had his back with her magic, Vision covered her, and Tony and Sam covered him from overhead. Nat and Clint were quite a wrecking crew, guarding the ramp to the jet with their lives. T'Challa fought at Steve's side with his general and her Dora Milaje and their ferocity enabled them to cut through the men Ross had with impressive speed.

Steve rounded them up, signaled for everyone to get on the jet. Ross clutched his should and the arm it connected to his body was limp at his side.

"You're not leaving with them, Rogers," Ross yelled at him. "You leave and you're in violation of -"

Steve didn't stick around to listen. He was the last one up the ramp and the moment he was clear, Clint closed it up and he and Nat got them in the air.

Bucky sat in one of the seats, looking washed out. Chris stood, tending to a wound at his shoulder. Steve could tell they were arguing from there.

"Why aren't you strapped in, Sweetheart?" Steve marched up.

The smile he earned just approaching her stopped him cold. When she flung herself against him, he just held on to her, so happy to have her back. The bump of their child thumped against him and he smiled, smoothing a hand over their son.

"He's been shot." Chris turned back to Bucky. "He's lost quite a bit of blood."

Vision moved back to them, scanning Bucky. "He has. He'll require units of blood once we return to base. He'll be monitored until then."

"Cap?"

Tony's voice pulled him away from his family, Tony's expression guarded.

"Ross has put us in one hell of a situation," Tony explained in a low voice. "He's going to have someone at the compound waiting for Barnes. And Chris."

Steve pulled his helmet off, raking his hand through his hair. "Can you drop us off somewhere else?"

Steve hated to ask but no way he was going to wait until the got back the compound and just hand over his family again. Ross was doing this to get back at him after all. No way he'd put the people he loved through more because of Ross's petty vendetta against him.

"I'm already ahead of you," Tony told him with a smirk. "They're aware of my place in the keys since you guys stayed there to find Chris the first time he took her. I've got a place in Cornwall, England that should be off the grid. There's enough technology to keep Athena happy and a mostly retired SHIELD doctor who doesn't live far from there."

Steve knew a moment's relief. That sounded ideal, particularly having a doctor nearby for Chris. They had three months to go if her pregnancy went as it should, and he'd really like to have his situation with Ross, resolved by then. Still…

"Tony, thank you," Steve told him. "It means everything to me."

"That's  _my_  employee Rogers," Tony play warned him. "I'm not giving her to you so you'd best take very good care of her."

"Will do," Steve assured him.

He didn't know, and didn't need to know, how Wanda and Vision managed to stop Bucky's bleeding. He just knew that the doctor would be waiting for them when they reached the Cornwall home and if Bucky needed blood transfusions, Steve was compatible. They'd be okay.

Scooping Chris up out of her seat next to Bucky who was sleeping, he took her place and sat her on his lap, wrapping his arms tightly around her. Nat smiled from across the way.

"You okay, Sweetheart?" he whispered into her hair.

"I'm glad to see you," Chris told him.

"Not as glad as I am to see you," he told her. "I was so afraid I wouldn't get to you both in time."

She slid a hand along his dirt-smudged face. "You came for us. I knew you would."

Steve held onto her a little tighter. "I'm just… Scared. Why is he so vehement about this, Steve? Why is Ross just out to destroy us?"

His heart dropped. "He's out to get me, Sweetheart. Making me pay for the civil war that happened when he tried to implement the Sovokian Accords? That's all he cares about. We need to find some way to pull him down before he does us real damage."

"Where will we go?" her voice sounded tired.

"One of Tony's places," he explained. "They're going to drop us off before heading on to the compound. If we go back home, he's just going to have Bucky taken into custody."

"He's not touching Bucky," Chris said with fire.

Proud of her, he pressed a kiss into her hair. "Tony told me you took care of Bucky during all of this. I'm proud of you, doll. I know once he's had some rest, he will be too."

That earned him a happy hum and a cuddle. "I'm getting better at all of this, you know? When I was taken by Odysseus's men, I was terrified. To the point that I just felt paralyzed, Steve. I don't know what I would have done without you, Bucky, and Phil. I wouldn't be here."

Steve nodded, not enjoying those memories.

"When I came around this time, I knew that if I'd survived all of  _that_ , I could get through anything Ross could dream up," Chris told him confidently. "And no way in hell I'm going to let them touch our son."

Even though he was covered in mud, blood, and heaven knew what else, he slid a hand protectively over her baby bump. The tiny life that all three of them had grown with their love? He was everything to Steve, just like Bucky and Chris were. Was there anything he wouldn't do for his son?

"I'm going to take care of you, and him, and Bucky," Steve told. "I promise."

Chris nodded, snuggling closer and tucking her head under his chin. In just a few moments, Chris was sleeping against him, along with the baby inside her, and their man. They were safe and with him and for the moment, it was enough.


	39. Chapter 39

Steve was grateful to see a loaned van waiting when they landed on a rocky cliff along the southern shore of England. It was in the middle of the night, Chris was sound asleep, and Bucky looked worse for the wear.

He woke Chris to say their temporary goodbyes and got them out of the jet, climbing quickly into the van and watching the team continue on to the compound. Tony was going to catch hell when it was discovered he'd dropped them off, but Tony could handle it. Probably better than he himself could.

The SHIELD agent who met them was a quiet man called Holt and he got them to what looked like an older English castle in a short period of time. Steve gazed up at the imposing structure with some doubt as he reached back into the van for Chris so he could carry her in.

"What the hell is this place?" Bucky mumbled, glancing around.

"Come on," he told him as they followed Holt in up a huge flight of stone steps.

Once they were inside, Bucky grinned. The front room looked restored from medieval times. The moment you stepped out of that stately room with its suits of armor and ancient rugs and relics, it looked like the state-of-the-art compound back home.

"Thank fuck," Bucky mumbled. "I really wasn't looking forward to sleeping in a cold, drafty room."

Steve set Chris gently on her feet. "If you two are sleeping in there, no way it's cold and drafty."

That had both of them laughing because both of them did tend to run hot.

"There was, I believe, a need to see the doctor?" Holt asked politely as he walked in carrying a few bags.

"Yes, please," Chris said apologetically. "Bucky's been shot, and he needs to be looked at. He lost quite a bit of blood."

Holt nodded at her middle. "Probably be prudent to have you looked over as well. You're due soon, yes?"

"I'm okay." She waived the offer away. "And no. Not for another two and a half months or so."

Holt nodded, if he were surprised by her answer, it didn't show.

"Mr. Stark's orders," he informed her. "I'll be back in just a few moments. Captain Rogers, if you would?"

The man motioned for Steve to follow him…

Chris sank into a comfy leather sofa with Bucky while Steve was shown around the lower level by Holt. It was handy to know where the security cameras were, the arsenal Tony always had fully-packed and ready. By the time Holt returned him to them, Steve knew his way around.

With Holt heading out to get the doctor, Steve decided to get them settled. Towards the back of the estate, there was a massive bedroom they decided on. The bed was a bit smaller than they were used to but then they usually ended up in a pile in the middle anyway, so they'd make do.

Bucky and Chris had just finished dressing from a quick shower in clothes they found belonging to Bucky and Pepper. Steve decided to wait for the doctor and shower later.

He didn't have to wait long. A distinguished gentleman of a doctor was shown in by Holt and was immediately put to work looking at Bucky's wounds. Dr. Inneson checked his vitals, took a blood sample.

Chris watched as he examined their lover, just as surprised as he was when the doctored pulled out a StarkPad and started typing. The man honestly looked as if he came from another time.

"Despite your enhanced healing, you'll recover faster with a blood transfusion," the doctor advised Bucky in his Scottish brogue. "I brought provisions with me, so we'll take care of that in just a few moments."

"I can donate if you need me to," Steve offered.

"Kind offer but no need." The doctor pointed to the bed. "Stretch out over there if you would please, Sergeant Barnes."

Then he motioned to Chris.

"Come here, young lady."

Taking a seat in the room's stuffed chair where Bucky had just sat, the doctor's eyes moved over her with fascination.

"You must forgive me if I seem particularly interested in you, my dear," Dr. Inneson told her. "While I'm mostly a medical doctor as opposed to a researcher, I was fascinated to read the details of your pregnancy."

Chris grinned at him. "I imagine from the outside it  _is_  a bit interesting."

"An American FBI agent," the doctor went on. "You intend to go back to work after the birth?"

Chris glanced from Bucky to Steve and back to the doctor. "I've been giving that a lot of thought actually. Earlier in my pregnancy, I meant to. But now…"

The doctor listened to her heart. When she didn't continue right away, he blew out a sigh. "You are perfectly in your rights to tell an old man to mind his own business, lass."

Steve snorted at that. He had to have at least a couple of decades on the man.

He watched color rise in their girl's face as she considered her words. Bucky smiled at her, looking supportive. He knew their dark-haired lover worried about her too. They both wanted her to be happy but after some of what they've been through… safety was also a worry.

"Oh, no," Chris told him. "I don't mind. I guess now I'm thinking I'd like to be a more involved mother. There are a lot of dangers out there. I'm fortunate in that I can do work online and not have to go out into the field. His fathers will be out a lot with their line of work, but I'll be there. It will be alright."

Bucky's eyes were suspiciously shiny.

Steve's heart squeezed in his chest a little.

"A son. That's confirmed?"

Chris nodded happily.

Dr. Inneson nodded. "What is it you do online?"

Chris shrugged as he wrapped a blood pressure cuff around her slender arm. "Internet security."

He nodded, checking her numbers.

"Your blood pressure is a bit elevated," he told her. "We'll be wanting to keep an eye on that."

Steve raised a brow at her. She wouldn't have a choice but to relax after all of this. He and Bucky would make sure of it.

"Do you plan on testing to see who the father is after the birth?" he asked, glancing at him and Bucky too.

"It doesn't matter to us," Chris said with conviction, "but I think we should know. Just to be safe."

"Wise," the doctor told them. Then he pointed to Bucky. "Stretch out next to him if you would please."

Once Chris was stretched out on her back along the edge of the bed, the doctor did a quick exam, focusing around her baby bump with gentle hands.

"When was the last sonogram?"

"Three weeks ago," Chris told him, watching his face along with Steve as he examined her.

"I'd like to arrange one in the next couple of days if I may," he told her. "Would that be acceptable?"

Chris nodded, chewing on her lip in a way that told Steve that she was a little nervous.

"Is everything okay?" Steve asked gently.

"I've delivered many babies in my time," Dr. Inneson told them. "I'm guessing it's one of the reasons Tony Stark may have picked this location for you."

Steve appreciated Tony looking out for them more than he could say.

"How far along are you?" the doctor asked. "His notes indicate 25 weeks. Is that correct?"

"Yes," Chris answered.

"Please don't be alarmed." The doctor held out his hand so Chris could sit up. Bucky slid down to her at the end of the bed to wrap his flesh arm around her. "If I didn't know that, I would think you were further along."

Chris nodded. "He's going to be a big baby, I know."

"The size of the child  _is_  a factor. He'll be a good size. What I mean, however, is that the pregnancy  _seems_  more advanced. I'd like to take a closer look."

Steve stepped away from the wall he'd been leaning on.

"Are you saying that maybe the baby will be arriving sooner than we thought?" he asked.

Dr. Inneson turned to Steve and nodded. "Precisely. I'm surprised that your doctors back home weren't more aware of it."

Chris's gray eyes rounded in fear as she stared up at Steve.

"She probably  _did_  know," Chris said quietly. "But didn't tell us. Oh, my God."

"Doll?"

Chris used Bucky's shoulder to help her rise from the bed. "The woman I thought was Dr. Meadows, the one I've been seeing throughout this pregnancy, may have been an OBGYN but she's not on our team and..."

Dr. Inneson's expression showed concern. "Excuse me?"

Steve held up a hand when she went to explain. Simply saying for her, "we can really use your help."

The doctor nodded. "I will help you."

Pulling out a card, he handed it to her. "Please contact me at any time if you need. I can be here in minutes. We will closely monitor the situation."

Chris frowned. "Is my pregnancy  _that_  advanced?"

"Possibly."

"Could someone…"

Steve's heart broke a little to read the fear in her face as she considered her words.

"Could someone have…  _advanced_  my pregnancy? Could they have sped it up somehow?" Chris wanted to know.

"Not unless you ingested or were injected with something experimental…?"

Chris shook her head and Steve had to grin at that. She'd even managed to give up soda and he was still very proud of her for that.

The doctor slowly shook his head. "I'll need to run some test of course. I know there are all manner of new age things happening now, people from space. But from my own experience, I would be surprised if that were the case. I would just like to visually assess the situation. From what you said and what Mr. Stark explained, we need to evaluate everything and move on from here."

Bucky stood, took Chris in his arms. He looked pleased with that answer.

"Agent Danforth, I –"

"Chris," she corrected the doctor, looking ready to faint.

Steve was really glad Bucky was right there.

"Chris, please take a few deep breaths," Dr. Inneson advised her. "I don't want you to be frightened. I did some research from materials sent to me by Mr. Stark on Erskine's serum along with the physiology of both potential fathers and the few notes that were entered into his system regarding your pregnancy. I just feel that it's within the realm of possibility for your pregnancy to be advanced because the father is also advanced."

It was a possibility that Steve hadn't thought of.

"I don't think there is any reason to worry," he went on. "The birth will go fine, and you will be fine. You just might be meeting your son a lot sooner than you anticipated."

Her expression relaxed.

"Sergeant Barnes?"

"Bucky," their dark-haired lover corrected him.

"Ah, yes," Dr. Inneson said with a smile. "Let us go to the kitchen. I'll go get my provisions and we'll get you some blood, yes?"

Not looking entirely steady on his feet, Steve walked over to them and motioned for Chris to rest on the bed.

"I'll get him situated in the kitchen," Steve told her. "Come on, pal."

He waited until the doctor returned with the cooler and Bucky nodded before returning to their girl in the bedroom. She looked so forlorn with one hand on their son and her gaze fixed on the floor. Taking a knee before her, he took her cold hands in his.

"What are you thinking, Sweetheart?"

Chris surprised him by yawning. "Tired, I guess. And a little worried."

"The doctor seems like a good man and he was hand-picked by Tony and probably approved by Fury. He'll take good care of us. He's looking after Bucky right now."

Steve hated to leave her to take a shower, but he got her tucked up in bed and she found a huge television with European channels she wasn't familiar with. She seemed okay, Bucky was with Dr. Inneson. He'd just be quick about it.

When he returned, the television's volume was lower, and it was quiet. Bucky had returned to the bedroom and had climbed into bed with their girl. Chris was curled up on her side and Bucky had curled up behind her with his face buried in her hair and his metal hand draped over her middle. They were both sound asleep.

Everything he ever wanted was there in the bed before him. He quickly found sleep pants and a t-shirt, dressing quickly before he climbed in on the other side, putting Chris in the middle. For weeks when they'd gotten her back from the first time Ross had taken her, she'd slept curled in a ball and it looked like the habit had resurfaced.

Chris was stronger now, she'd be okay.

Steve stretched out on his back on her other side, one arm draped across their pillow to bury his hand in Bucky's still damp hair. If he closed his eyes and focused, he could hear each heartbeat, each strong and steady. Bucky's was deeper, the most familiar. Chris's was different in her pregnancy, almost if it had to work harder to sustain her and their son.

The smaller rapid beat of their son's heart made him smile. It was a strong beat, growing stronger by the day. Steve couldn't wait to meet him, to be able to hold him just as he did his mother, his other father.

The shadow of Ross still loomed over them and as he told Chris, that was  _his_  fault. And he'd settle it. His gaze drifted over his family, a family he never thought to have and that filled his heart with happiness in a way that nothing else ever had, and he promised himself then and there that whatever he had to do to keep them safe, he would do.


End file.
